


Until the End

by lover_of_queens



Category: The Witcher (TV)
Genre: A Touch of Domesticity, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Bodyguard AU, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Jaskier as the comic relief roommate, Slow Burn, Slow Dancing, the inherent homoeroticism of hand touching, there will be pining and yearning bc is that not the universal gay experience
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:13:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 44,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24934324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lover_of_queens/pseuds/lover_of_queens
Summary: Tissaia de Vries, the daughter of an extremely powerful businessman receives a threat that places her life in danger.Enter Yennefer, a bodyguard with a past she can't help but run from, only too aware that this job could be the shot at redemption she's been needing.A rocky start slowly turns into something more than either of them could have ever dreamed but with the threat on Tissaia's life impossible to forget and boundaries getting more and more blurred, will these two be able to make it out ... without getting burned in the process?
Relationships: Tissaia de Vries/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg
Comments: 155
Kudos: 206





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I recently finished watching Bodyguard with Keeley Hawes and Richard Madden, of which I highly recommend watching the first three episodes and pretending the rest don't exist. Since then the idea of writing a bodyguard themed AU has been following me around and ultimately resulted in this. For people who have seen Bodyguard don't fear, this isn't a faithful adaption though there may be a few ideas pulled from it. Anyway, I'm really excited to be writing for these two again and I hope you wonderful readers enjoy!

“What am I looking at?” Yennefer asked, looking at a spread of glossy photos laid out across the glass top of her boss’ desk. The hefty folder - information packet, Triss always called it - next to the photos was a good enough explanation as any but … she wanted the words out of Triss’ mouth. 

“What do you think it is, Yennefer?” Triss said, truly more of a statement than a question. Her nails hitting her phone screen with such speed that for a moment Yennefer was convinced that she’d need the screen - hell the whole phone - replaced before the day was over. “Your next assignment.” 

Yennefer was glad that she had bit her tongue before snarking back a response. Judging from the way Triss’ eyes had settled on her face, her boss was in no mood for Yennefer’s signature attitude today. Not that Yennefer could blame her, she had heard through the grapevine that Triss was currently involved in bitter divorce proceedings. 

And Yennefer knew better than to push her luck when Triss Merigold was in a bad mood. 

“My apologies ma'am,” Yennefer said, ducking her head, hoping that the somewhat submissive gesture would put her back in Triss’ good graces. All she managed to do was get Triss to roll her eyes, though there was no malice in the gesture. 

Yennefer untucked a piece of hair from her ponytail. Then blew it out of her face. 

“Subservient never was a good look on you,” Triss said, hint of a smile gracing her face. She cast her eyes on the photos and other documents splayed across her desk, suddenly back in work mode. 

“I take it you know the woman in these photographs?” Triss asked, pushing one closer so that Yennefer could get a better look. 

Yennefer finally took a seat, leaning back into the black plush of her boss’ chair as she stared at the photo in her hands. The woman’s smile was the first thing that caught her attention, more specifically just how obscenely white her teeth were. Whiter than any teeth had the right to be if she was being perfectly frank. Likely in her early forties. Brown shoulder length hair framed her face and admittedly the woman had some gorgeous blue eyes. 

(Though Yennefer wasn’t jealous or anything, she’d always been complimented for her eyes. Probably because whenever she decided to open her mouth, that’s when people went running.) 

And of course there was a larger than life diamond pendant hanging around the woman’s neck. Yennefer had to hold back a scoff, great another _fucking_ rich person. She was getting tired of having to spend most of her days around people with more wealth than she could ever hope to dream of. She tried not to let her distaste show on her face though, lest she face another lecture about duty from Triss. 

Let’s just say Yennefer had been the talk of the office when she had been assigned to protect visiting nobility Queen Calanthe a few years back. She had almost quit on the spot, yelling at Triss about how they ought to try and protect those who really needed protecting instead of stuck up rich fucks who could jump up their own asses and die for all Yennefer cared. 

Needless to say, Triss’ glass walls had definitely not protected her from the legendary chewing out she had received that day. She still got glares, the occasional snicker, when she would walk through the building, even up until this morning. Yennefer was just surprised that Triss hadn’t fired her then and there, and she didn’t think she was the only one. If the office water cooler gossip was to be believed, of course. 

Yennefer turned her thoughts back to the picture in front of her. Her eyes scanned it over and over again and every time she did there was a little tug in the back of her mind. A pull at a memory. 

“Something about her that is familiar,” Yennefer started, “is she an actress? Politician’s daughter? I’m sure I’ve seen her somewhere.” Yennefer chewed on her lip, she really wanted to be able to place her.

“Tissaia de Vries,” Triss offered. A starting point.

And then it clicked, “her father is the owner of that massive conglomerate right? Some brotherhood or otherwise very macho male name? Jesus, he must be one of the most powerful people in the country.”

“Very good, Yennefer,” Triss said. Yennefer had to fight not to beam at the praise. “You’re right in your assumption that he holds a lot of this country’s power in his hands, economic, political. You name it and he has it. I’d wager he has more power than most of the country’s politicians combined and from his requests to us that does not seem to be a fact that has escaped his enemies notice.”

Triss reached for the folder and rifled through the documents inside, pausing when her eyes caught a specific one, and then she pulled it out and offered it to Yennefer. The other woman took it. 

“And this is?” Yennefer asked, albeit needlessly, she was already scanning through the words on the page. 

“A threat against Tissaia’s life if Mr. de Vries doesn’t take the action outlined in the letter. Having spoken with him, he’s decided to take the ‘I won’t negotiate with terrorists route’ and as such there is a very good chance that some violent action will be taken against his daughter. It's our job, or more specifically your job, to ensure those actions never come to fruition.” 

Yennefer opened her mouth to speak but before she could utter a word, Triss cut her off, likely fearing another Calanthe-esque dispute. 

“Understood?”

Yennefer nodded, picked up the information packet, and strode out of the office. 

* * *

“Oi, give that back,” Yennefer said, or tried to, through a mouthful of noodles. She reached across to try and nab the picture of Tissaia out of Jaskier’s hands but he was too quick and leaped off the sofa and ran into their shared kitchen. 

“Jaskier!” Yennefer yelled, setting her bowl down on the coffee table and going after him. “You don’t have the security clearance to be looking at that.”

“Security clearance my ass, it is a PHOTOGRAPH pulled from GOOGLE, madam Yennefer,” Jaskier shouted back. Two loud thumps came from the ceiling, and both Yennefer and Jaskier looked up. The upstairs neighbours didn’t seem overly happy with the current noise levels. 

“Would you stop yelling,” Yennefer seethed, “the last thing we need is to piss the landlord off again with your antics.”

The look on Jaskier's face was incredulous and Yennefer had to clap her hand over his mouth before he started off again. Then, he licked her. A series of expletives fell from her mouth as she jumped back, wiping her hand on her jeans. 

“You are a dead man.”

“Oh, whatever,” Jaskier said, putting the photo on the kitchen counter, “I can’t believe that you’re going to be assigned to Tissaia de Vries. Honestly, I’m surprised Triss even trus-”

Yennefer’s eyes darkened.

Jaskier swallowed and suddenly found a spot on the floor that seemed _very_ interesting

Yennefer grabbed the photo from off the counter and returned it to the folder. Flopping back onto the couch she grabbed her bowl of food. Before she could even raise her fork to her lips, Jaskier flopped right next to her, looking at her expectantly.

“She’s really hot.”

Yennefer was suddenly glad the words were out his mouth before she'd managed to take a bite because she was certain she would have choked otherwise. And she liked those noodles way too much to waste them.

“I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

“I’m just saying, it can’t hurt that you’ll be spending all your time with eye candy, duh.”

“I know you did not just use the word duh. You are twenty-six years old Jaskier, you are much too old for that word.”

Jaskier laughed. “And I think you’re just deflecting my comment, Yennefer.”

Yennefer just threw up her hands in answer, but they both knew that was just another deflection. Tissaia was attractive, there was no denying that. Yennefer had eyes and she trusted them not to lie to her - for the most part at least. She also had a brain that told her to look for gratification in someone who was not at least fifteen years older than her and lived in a completely different world from her. 

“So when do you meet her?” Jaskier asked. 

“Triss called me to tell me to come to the office early tomorrow and to look sharp. We have a couple more details to finalize on the overall arrangement … but judging from the ‘look sharp’ comment I’d imagine I might cross paths with Tissaia tomorrow.”

Jaskier wrinkled his face. “Then you’d better get in bed. God only knows you’ll need the beauty sleep.”

Yennefer threw a throw pillow at his head. 

* * *

Jaskier’s words stuck with her though, and she spent much longer in the bathroom than she usually did. Much to her roommate’s displeasure. But he was the one who said she needed to look good today so she saw no reason for his string of curse words after she locked him out. 

After trying to wing her eyeliner for the fifth time Yennefer just gave up, mainly because when she glanced at her phone and saw the time she realized that she was going to be very very late if she didn’t get out of the door right now. So, she unlocked the door, sidestepped the cursing Englishman, and grabbed a piece of burnt toast before running out the apartment. 

Jaskier’s “try not to fuck your client” ringing in her ears as she hopped on the bus. Technically it was Mr. de Vries who was Triss’ client. But either way she didn’t think she had anything to worry about. 

* * *

Yennefer most definitely had something to worry about. But it certainly was not Jaskier’s belief that she’d be a drooling mess over the woman she was supposed to be in charge of protecting. No. It was rather her original fear that Tissaia would turn out to be a pompous, cold bitch. 

Indeed from the moment Ms. de Vries had stepped into Triss’ office that day, accompanied by her father, both of them absolutely reeking of money and privilege, Yennefer had known this would likely be one of the most difficult jobs of her life. If it wasn’t the last job she ever undertook for a private security firm. 

Tissaia had taken one glance at her before looking at Triss and demanding that she find somebody more competent for the job. Yennefer knew that from first appearances she may not look the strongest, her somewhat petite build certainly didn’t make her the most threatening to attackers. But she wasn’t afraid to be scrappy and had learned how to fight for her life from young. Which is why Triss had hired her in the first place - physical strength was one thing, conviction to stay at the job even when your own life was in danger was something else altogether. 

Besides she had at least three or four inches on the little rich pipsqueak herself. 

But Triss’ pointed glance at her had stopped her from getting too close to Tissaia to emphasize that. Regardless, Triss had reaffirmed to Mr. de Vries that Yennefer was an excellent choice of protection for his daughter and she would not be the only one assigned to Tissaia by any means. Just the closest. 

Triss felt that with Tissaia living a lot of her life in the limelight, or at least the light of her father’s work, Yennefer’s presence next to her at most times wouldn’t draw too much attention or give tabloids anything to turn into some sort of scandal. 

Yennefer wasn’t entirely certain about that, god only knew the tabloids could take any little thing and turn it into something outrageously massive. But she took Triss’ point, and it seemed that Mr. de Vries did as well. Tissaia’s face was still set up in a scowl so Yennefer could only assume she was still less than thrilled. 

At least with that Yennefer could sympathize. She was also less than thrilled about the predicament she found herself in. She wondered if she should just hand her notice into Triss now and hope Jaskier’s streaming channel took off so he could pay the bills for once. 

That’s when there was a flash at Triss’ door and a man walked in. But, of course it couldn’t be any man because why should Yennefer’s life be anything else but outrageously difficult. 

Vilgefortz. 

Triss beckoned him over, shooting a glance at Yennefer that most definitely meant ‘hold your tongue we’ll talk about this later’, before turning her attention back to her clients. Yennefer was too busy feeling her blood pressure rise to take it on too much anyway. 

Vilgefortz. Out of all the fucking people. 

“And this will be that other protective presence I mentioned,” Triss said, practically beaming at Vilgefortz. “He’ll be more of a background presence but nonetheless you could not put your daughter in safer hands.”

Yennefer didn’t miss the way Tissaia’s gaze stayed on the newest addition to their little meeting for just a second too long. Or the way the woman’s mouth quirked up at one end. 

“Pleasure to meet you both,” Vilgefortz said. Then, he shook Mr. de Vries’ hand and leaned forward to whisper something in his ear. Yennefer wasn’t too sure what it was but the man came away laughing. Yennefer did all she could to keep a straight face. 

“It will be an honour to keep you safe m’lady.” Vilgefortz nodded to Tissaia. 

Yennefer bit back a scoff. It was the 21st century; did people even still use that word? Besides guys in fedoras that was. She had her issues with Vilgefortz but even she didn’t consider him of the fedora-wearing male breed.

Tissaia glanced back at her and Yennefer wished she could make a guess at what was going on behind her eyes. She imagined it could only be some kind of comparison between her standoffish self and the charming Vilgefortz. 

Tissaia offered him her hand. Yennefer’s world felt like it flipped upside down. 

* * *

“Vilgefortz,” Yennefer said. It was meant to come out angry, to have a certain bite to it. It just sounded hurt. 

Mr. de Vries, Tissaia, and Vilgefortz had left. All the required documents had been signed, the appropriate money had passed hands and the job would start tomorrow. The workday itself was over, Triss and Yennefer were the only two left in the building; sitting on the couch in Triss’ office which was really a lot more comfortable than it looked. 

Yennefer resisted the urge to grab one of Triss’ pillows and hold it tight to her chest, her voice was already shaking, she didn’t particularly care to do anything else which could signal some kind of weakness. Though she knew Triss would never shame her for it, being vulnerable in front of other people had never truly been her thing. 

“I know the two of you don’t get along,” Triss said as though she was testing the words out, waiting to see how Yennefer’s face would change upon hearing them. “And I understand it is for good reason. But I ask you to remember that it was you who came to me after it all went down. It was you who came to me after the fires had been put out to ask for a shot at redemption.”

Triss' hand reached out for Yennefer’s and she held it gently, running her thumb in soft circles on Yennefer’s palm. 

“I want you to forgive yourself, Yennefer. You made the right choice in my office that day when I gave you the option to leave and you fought to stay. You don’t need to prove yourself to me anymore. But I can see the war that wages in your head and if you need to prove yourself to Vilgefortz, to yourself, then use this opportunity to do so.” 

Yennefer bit her lip, trying to pretend that Triss’ words weren’t having any effect on her. Triss did her the favour of looking away. 

“Still doesn’t mean I want to work with him.”

Triss offered her a sad smile. “I know, but you’re the best two agents I have and this is an extremely high profile case. And as much as I don’t want to tell you that the pressure is on, it is. From the information I’ve received we need to take this threat against Tissaia very seriously, which means you need to have your head on at all times. Don’t let your squabbles with Vilgefortz get muddled in with the job at hand.” 

“I won’t.”

A beat. 

“Tissaia clearly prefers him.”

Triss rolled her eyes, but Yennefer saw some of the tension leave her shoulders. It would appear that she wasn’t the only one who found it incredibly difficult to talk about … past events. Not that she could blame Triss, as much as she might say now that it was water under the bridge Yennefer doubted she would ever truly know the extent of what Triss had to do to get that incident under control. 

And she didn’t think she wanted to know either, and maybe that was selfish but so be it. Yennefer had endured enough and if Triss wanted to take some of the weight off her shoulders then so be it. 

“She may prefer him because he made an effort to be liked. Something you are going to have to get better at,” Triss said, laughing. Yennefer opened her mouth but before she could retort Triss continued, “You’re going to be spending the most time with her. You don’t have to be friends with her, in fact it’s probably better not to form too many emotional attachments. But just try for something amiable, please.”

“If it’ll make you happy.”

“Sweet girl, I am only trying to ensure that your life isn’t misery for the next … however long. And of course, if it’ll make my clients happy then I would call that a win-win.” 

“I really don’t think she’s the kind of person who I can get to like me,” Yennefer said, shaking her head.

“You got me to like you.”

“You like everybody.” 

Triss laughed, a big hearty laugh, smile spreading across her face and for a minute Yennefer felt like everything might be alright with the world. Triss had that effect on people, it was likely why her business was as successful as it was. 

But then Triss’ face got serious again, “I’m putting my trust in you, Yennefer. At the end of the day feelings do not come into this, the job is the job. Do it well and nobody can fault you.”

“I will protect Ms. de Vries with my life, Triss,” Yennefer responded. “I promise.”

“Until the end.”

Yennefer nodded, suddenly wishing she had a glass of something strong to knock back. 

“Until the end.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yennefer loses a rock paper scissors battle, Tissaia questions her life and good ol' Vilgefortz is just along for the ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First I'd like to thank you all for your absolutely wonderful comments, they always make me so happy to read! I'm really glad you all seem to be enjoying it and I hope you like this update as well. 
> 
> I haven't exactly figured out what the update schedule for this will be but I know the first chapter was very 'intro-y' so I wanted to give you guys a little more to sink your teeth into! Happy reading!

Yennefer shrugged on her black blazer, not missing how it clung to her in a way that could only mean it had been tailored to her exact measurements. She knew it was only a piece of fabric but still, it never failed to make her feel powerful. 

It had also been a welcome back present from Triss, who could actually afford services such as tailoring. Or, at least, had had money for long enough that spending it on something as frivolous as tailoring wasn’t even given a second thought. And it wasn’t at all that Triss didn’t pay Yennefer well, it was just that Yennefer had never quite gotten into the habit of spending it. 

Except when she was drunk. Which is why there were sloth and unicorn pool floaties taking up residence in her living room. She didn’t even have a pool. When Jaskier had questioned her about why she needed two - much less one - she had just shrugged her shoulders and said she didn’t want Mr. Sloth to get lonely.

Admittedly, Triss wasn’t paying her well enough to afford living on her own in a city as expensive as this one. Case in point, Jaskier was currently standing at the entrance to her room, watching her fiddle with her tie, and holding a handkerchief up to his eyes. 

“They just grow up so fast,” Jaskier said, wiping away fake tears. “One day you’re carrying ‘em in the womb and the next day they’re off on a mission to protect the hottest milf in town.”

Yennefer finished the last loop and turned to face him, hands in her pockets. 

“Firstly, you definitely didn’t give birth to me and secondly she is not ‘the hottest milf in town’.”

“So does that mean that you’ve undertaken a significant amount of research on who might hold that title?” Jaskier asked, his eyebrows wiggling at quite frankly an alarming rate. 

“I refuse to even dignify that with a comment.”

“Isn’t that technical-”

Yennefer glared at him to be quiet, which usually didn’t work. Jaskier’s mouth always ran a mile a minute and seemed to her to be physically incapable of staying shut unless sealed shut with the strongest super glue mankind had to offer. However, now he just gulped and refused to finish his sentence. 

The power of the suit. Yennefer just had to hope that it would have … maybe not a similar effect as it was having on Jaskier … but at least some sort of effect on Tissaia. While she certainly had no intention of seducing her, despite Jaskier’s continued claims, she was never one to back down from any sort of competition and she refused to let Vilgefortz get one over on her.

And then Jaskier opened his mouth once again and Yennefer’s illusion of having any power over getting him to actually shut up was shattered. 

“I’m just saying, Yenna. It’s been awhile since I’ve heard the bed frame creaking in here. You deserve that again.”

“I deserve to have my bed frame creak?” Yennefer said, humouring him. Trying to anyway, Jaskier’s face had turned a shade more serious than she thought possible.

“It’s just … It’s been some time since …” 

Jaskier didn’t say it. He didn’t need to. The name hung between them in the air, both unwilling to let his name tumble out their mouths. Even if it only felt like poison on Yennefer’s tongue. 

_ Istredd _ . 

Who was quite frankly the last person she wanted to be thinking of right now. She didn’t know if Jaskier picked up on the sudden tension in her jaw or how her nails were digging into her palms with such ferocity she feared she’d have permanent half-moon dents, but he walked over and started adjusting her tie.

It didn’t need adjusting. And Yennefer was certain she’d only make it a couple of hours before she ripped it off anyway but she was thankful for the sudden change in energy. 

“Anyway, I presume it’ll be a little bit until I get to see your absolutely marvelous face in person again so don’t forget to call me and tell me how your first day at school goes!”

“Did you pack me a sack lunch too?” Yennefer asked. Then, before waiting for a response, ruffled the hair on top of his head and was out the door. 

Yennefer smiled to herself as she thundered down the steps. This job might just kill her, and if those late night googling sessions proved true then Tissaia may turn out to be an even bigger bitch than she originally thought, but she might as well have some fun with it.

As long as she didn’t get anybody killed, of course. 

Except maybe Vilgefortz. 

* * *

Tissaia would be lying if she said she was at all thrilled about this arrangement her father had decided on. Media outlets always struggled to truly represent her personality, cold frigid bitch was usually how they described her though usually in nicer words. The one thing they usually got right, was that she was a very private person. 

Yes, she was always attending events and networking with the higher-ups in society. She could be social and she could do it very well. She was certain if she actually tried then she would be more than capable of charming a marble statue. But once she left those functions, once the cameras stopped being trained on her, she liked to think that she could escape back into her own bubble - as it were. 

The presence of bodyguards with her at all times, therefore, was a deeply troubling prospect. More troubling was that her father had agreed to it without a second thought about how she felt about it all. For crying out loud she was forty years old, much too old to be at the beck and call of an old man’s whims, but her father had never taken no for an answer and she assumed he would stay that way until he was dead. Or until his mind got eaten away by age. Whichever came first. 

And if she wanted to stay his heiress, then comply with his demands she must. She was resourceful though, and much more cunning than her father ever gave her credit for. Perhaps he had just never noticed. She had always been able to worm her way out of situations that she truly despised, but this was the one thing her father would just not budge on. 

Tissaia had endured endless talks on how nothing was more important than her safety, keeping her alive was paramount. At this point, she was convinced the only reason he was so invested in her continued breathing was that he hated the thought of anyone not bearing the de Vries name at the helm of his precious company. 

He had refused to even show her the threat that had been sent to him detailing all the horrible things that would be done to her if he did not comply with their orders. Whatever those orders were Tissaia had absolutely no idea. With his refusal to provide evidence she found herself wondering if the threat hadn’t just been fabricated by father dearest to ensure she was always under this thumb. 

He’d been trying to place her under 24/7 protection for years now, she had always gotten out of those demands by saying that she was just a background character in his company - she wasn’t but he would believe her. Or that surely if anyone was going to be targeted it would be him and he should put his attention towards strengthening his own security. 

But now her life was seemingly in danger and so her pleas for privacy had fallen on deaf ears. Her father had been employing private security for many years so he assured her it would be absolutely no hassle to get them to assign a security detail to her. 

And she was expected to put up with them for all hours of the day, every day until the threat against her life had been neutralized. With nobody seeming to have any idea when that would be Tissaia just resigned herself to life that would never be free from scrutiny. 

That woman, at the agency, whatever her name was Tissaia couldn’t quite remember, had assured her that her agents were highly trained not only in keeping people alive but also in acting with discretion. She claimed Tissaia would hardly even notice they were around. She found that very very hard to believe. 

While she understood the merits of not basing one’s entire opinion of someone on a first impression, she also knew she was rarely wrong about people so why not judge away. That woman, her close guard as she had been called, she was quiet but Tissaia had seen something brewing behind her eyes that told her there was much much more beneath the surface. 

And the other one, Vilgefortz. He had made quite the impression indeed, sure he was attractive and Tissaia couldn’t say that his looks didn’t intrigue her. But she was much more interested in the reaction he had created when he walked into the room. 

Tissaia had heard the long exhale of breath from the woman behind her when she realized who she was going to be working with. She’d practically felt the fury rolling off of her in waves and when Tissaia had looked back at her, she was sure she saw unbridled rage glowing in her eyes. 

How wonderful, she remembered thinking, even if she managed to avoid death the two people in charge of protecting her might just kill each other. Which if they weren’t going to be replaced she would be fine with. But she didn’t think she could ever be so lucky. 

The crunch of car tires on the gravel leading up to the house pulled her from her thoughts as she saw a black range rover making its way up to the entrance. If she squinted she could just make out Vilgefortz at the wheel and what looked like a slightly pissed off Yennefer in the passenger seat. 

She took one last drag of her cigarette, one of the few dirty habits she’d acquired that she had managed to keep hidden from the press, before outing it. She turned away from the window and reached in the top drawer of the desk in her study, fingers grabbing around for the bottle of perfume she kept stashed there for situations exactly like this one. 

She knew a couple of spritzes wouldn’t completely mask the smell but they had arrived earlier than anticipated. Day one and these buffoons were already finding ways to inconvenience her. Off to a fantastic start. 

The door opened with a start and her father strode through, looking thoroughly like he owned the place. Which he did not. Tissaia was always proud to say that out of all the assets she had acquired, her house was her own. Her name on the deed. 

“Father,” Tissaia started, slipping the perfume back into the drawer and closing it lightly. “I wasn’t aware you were planning on being here.”

“I wanted to ensure that today got off with a smooth start.” A pause. “Also, I required your signature on some business documents. It seemed wise to kill two birds with one stone.”

He slid a stack of papers over towards her, requests to shift some money around to a few different accounts. Tissaia usually prided herself on a thorough reading of anything she agreed to or put her signature on, her few friends always had a good laugh at how long Tissaia spent reading the Terms & Conditions of a good many things, but her father’s sudden appearance had startled her. She didn’t realize she would have to deal with him today as well. 

With a brief flick over the documents, she signed her name and her father slipped the documents back into his briefcase with a smile. 

“Shall we?” he asked, beckoning her out of the door, arm outstretched. 

Tissaia rolled her shoulders, straightened her spine, and made her way out of the study. 

* * *

The last of the summer rays were currently beating down on Yennefer’s head as she stood outside of Ms. de Vries’ McMansion, which she had to admit was a slightly humbler than she expected but regardless she was certain the cost of it could put a couple of kids through university. 

A bead of sweat ran down the back of her neck. Vilgefortz had won their rock paper scissors battle for who got to drive, which she was still surprised he had even agreed to, and anytime she had tried to put the air conditioning on blast he had put it back to where it was. Something about how because he was driving he made the rules or some shit. 

The bead of sweat was now making its way down her back and she wondered just how long exactly they were supposed to be kept waiting. She snuck a glance at Vilgefortz and he just shrugged and looked away. 

Guess she had just forgotten how much rich people don’t care about the time of others.

But then the door opened and out came Mr. de Vries and Tissaia. Ms. de Vries. Now that she was on duty she’d have to get better at not referring to her by her first name. 

She gave it a week before she just gave up on the formalities and hoped she wouldn’t slip up and call her ‘Tissaia’ in front of her. If there was one thing she remembered from previous jobs it was that the more powerful a person was the more they hated it when the “staff” dared address them by anything other than their preferred titles. 

She’d expected Tissaia’s eyes to go straight to Vilgefortz, she’d certainly seemed to enjoy the view yesterday. Instead, Tissaia sought her eyes as she made her way down the steps from the front patio to the drive. Heels clacking against the marble. 

So the pipsqueak was a little closer to her in height today then. But it wasn’t the heels that gave Yennefer a sudden difficulty swallowing, not at all. Rather it was the pencil skirt that clung to Tissaia’s every curve. 

So maybe Yennefer had a thing for pencil skirts. Sue her. 

Though she definitely needed to avert her eyes from Tissaia’s backside or it was possible she may indeed get sued. She wondered if she should text Triss and ask her if she had the number for a good lawyer. Who was also cheap. 

Just in case.

But Tissaia’s eyes swept from her to her companion and Yennefer suddenly felt like she could breathe again. 

“Pleasure to see you again Vilgefortz and … Jennifer was it?”

“Yennefer, ma’am. Easy mistake.” 

Yennefer neglected to point out that if she was capable of memorizing Vilgefortz’s name then she was certainly capable of remembering Yennefer’s own. Though the smirk Tissaia shot her had her wondering if the mispronunciation was all too intentional. 

“Darling,” Mr de Vries said. Yennefer swore she saw Tissaia fight the urge to roll her eyes. “I just got off a call with Stregobor, he’s called an emergency meeting at the office, the old twit refused all my questions as to what it pertained to so we’ll be driving into the city immediately.”

If the man felt in any way embarrassed at being caught badmouthing one of his closest business partners in front of people who were essentially total strangers then he made no show of it. Instead just looked at them pointedly, as though expecting them to spring into action immediately. 

Which Vilgefortz picked up a second before her. Bastard. 

“Shall we drive you into the city, Sir?” Vilgefortz asked. 

“Why yes of course. I don’t pay you to sit on your asses and do nothing. Get the cars started at once.” 

“The … cars, Sir? Plural?” 

“Yes, you can drive mine, I certainly have no intention of returning to my daughter’s residence after the meeting. Therefore, it makes no sense to only take one car.”

Yennefer would be lying if she said that she didn’t enjoy seeing that charming mask fall ever so slightly off Vilgefortz’s face, replaced by what Yennefer could only call his ‘customer service dealing with a difficult customer’ face. 

“And that way the ladies can drive together. Have some chit chat. Talk about whatever it is women talk about,” Mr de Vries then shot Yennefer a huge smile, like he was paying her a massive compliment or something of the sort. 

Yennefer began to wonder, and not for the first time, why the threat was on his daughter’s life and not his. She wondered if she should personally write a letter addressed to these would-be ransomers and ask them if they would be so kind as to rethink their target. She didn’t think it should take too much convincing at all. 

Without warning, Mr. de Vries tossed his keys at Vilgefortz and she presumed it was only a miracle that allowed Vilgefortz to catch them. But that wasn’t important, what was important was that she was now feeling the full weight of Tissaia’s gaze on her. 

And she turned to meet her eyes, heart skipping what felt like several beats. But that was fine, totally normal. She felt Vilgefortz press the keys to the agency car into her hand and then he was off. 

“Shall we, ma'am,” Yennefer said, opening the passenger side door for Tissaia. 

It was a few minutes later when Yennefer had finally worked up the nerve to say something, which startled her somewhat because she was usually never one afraid of holding her tongue on almost any matter. She also was not in the right headspace to examine why now she might suddenly be having performance issues. 

In her defense, Tissaia had immediately gotten on her phone upon entering the car so it wasn’t like she was the poster child for an inviting conversation partner or anything. 

“Not to be rude,” Yennefer started, adding a “ma’am” as an afterthought. 

“Always a great way to start off a sentence,” Tissaia said, eyes still trained on her phone. 

“Your father is a misogynistic -” Yennefer said, hesitating before she said the word she’d have in mind. Maybe it was better to allow Tissaia to play fill in the blanks anyway. She might find a nicer word than Yennefer had intended. 

The noise that came from Tissaia’s throat could only be described as someone desperately trying to hold in a laugh. And for the first time since they’d started the journey, she turned her gaze away from the phone to look at Yennefer. 

Yennefer would have been all too happy to hold her stare but at the risk of driving them both into a ditch on her first day on the job, she returned her eyes to the road.

“He’s a misogynistic cunt, yes. I suppose after dealing with him for forty-odd years I’ve forgotten just the effect he can have upon people when they first meet him.”

Yennefer kept quiet. There wasn’t much she could say to that, she figured she’d already tested her luck with the misogynist comment. While Tissaia had admittedly laughed, the tone of her words somehow felt like a scolding. 

“You have a last name, I presume?” Tissaia said, but Yennefer no longer felt the heat of her gaze.

“You’d be correct in that assumption.” 

A pause. 

“Vengerburg.” 

“I don’t believe I’ve ever met a Vengerberg, what is it, European?”

Yennefer was only too aware her fingernails were digging into the steering wheel. If Tissaia was looking at her then she was sure the change in her face would have been apparent. Thankfully, the woman was too caught up in whatever she was reading to pay much attention. 

“Well now that you’ve met me, you’ve met the best. I can assure you none of the others are nearly as worthwhile. As for its origins, I never really cared enough to find out.”

“Hmm.” Yennefer could practically see Tissaia filing away what she just said in some mental folder to be used against her later. The reddit thread she’d found where disgruntled employees complained about their former bosses said Tissaia was ruthless. That she would get you to open up and then use your vulnerabilities against you.

Yennefer had had enough of being used. 

“Is Vilgefortz his first name or his last name?”

Maybe Yennefer should just go ahead and drive the car into the ditch. It would certainly be more fun than this conversation.

“Hell if I know. I say Vilgefortz, he responds. That’s all I need.” 

“Not friends, then?”

Yennefer sighed. She tried not too, figured it wouldn’t be the most ‘becoming’ thing of her. But she was getting tired of being questioned about her relationship to Vilgefortz. 

“Are you friends with all of your co-workers?”

Tissaia didn’t respond. Which was fine, the question was meant rhetorically anyway. 

“My personal relationship with Vilgefortz is of no concern to you. We may not knock back beers at a bar every Saturday but neither of us would act in such a way to compromise your safety. I make that assurance with my life, Ms. de Vries.”

It’s funny how a promise to protect someone with your life could sound so cold. 

“Well, in the end, I suppose that is all that matters,” Tissaia said. 

Yennefer glanced up, the sign stood out, practically shining in the light of the sun. Ban Ard Industries, run by the Brotherhood Council. They’d arrived. 

She’d pulled into the parking spot next to Vilegfortz. Pleased to see that he got out of the car looking just about as haggard as she felt on the inside. Within seconds Yennefer had appeared at Tissaia’s door, opening it for her. 

Tissaia gave her a slight nod, which Yennefer chose to interpret as a ‘thank you’ for her own peace of mind. 

As Tissaia walked over towards her father, Vilgefortz came up beside Yennefer. Looking like he had aged just about ten years in the span of a thirty minute car ride. Yennefer wondered if she looked the same. 

“I know it’s only day one,” he whispered, “but do you by any chance think we’re in way over our heads?”

Yennefer inhaled deeply. “Oh, one hundred percent. I think we’re going to have so much fun, Vilgefortz.” 

* * *

It was late when the car pulled back into Tissaia’s drive that night. They were just far enough from the city that a couple of stars were starting to become visible against the growing dark. 

Yennefer had let Vilgefortz drive them back. The meeting had gone on for much longer than anyone intended. And as much as she had tried to ignore the rather heated voices coming from the conference room, they were quite loud and resulted in a bit of a pounding headache. 

Tissaia hadn’t even said goodbye to her father before marching up to Yennefer and Vilgefortz and demanding she be taken home at once. Yennefer risked a glance back at her now. Tissaia was sitting in the backseat, hands folded neatly in her lap with her gaze firmly out the window. 

She looked troubled. Yennefer supposed a death threat and a difficult relationship with your father would do that to a person. She’d certainly never had any death threats, well, formal ones anyway. But she had some experience with the other thing, so she felt qualified to make claims in that arena, at least. 

The procession into the house was quite silent. The key turning in the lock of the front door was an almost jarring noise after so much quiet. 

“There are two guest bedrooms in the upper east wing,” Tissaia said, “take those stairs and you’ll reach it. One is at the top of the landing, next to the study. The other is further down the passage, a door down from my own bedroom. You can fight over who gets which.”

Vilgefortz opened his mouth but Tissaia put one finger in the air and silenced him. 

“I truly do not care who sleeps where. The fact that there are strangers sleeping in my house because my father is afraid someone will try and kill me in my sleep is already enough to deal with. I have had a long day and I fear if I hear a voice not belonging to me I will truly lose my mind. Goodnight.” 

She turned and walked up the stairs, disappearing up to the second floor before they could even react. Yennefer turned to look at Vilgefortz.

“So are we gonna draw straws or?”

Vilgefortz shook his head. “I’ll take the one at the top of the stairs. That way if anybody tries to break in in the night they won’t be able to get past me.”

“Fine by me.”

Yennefer dragged her suitcase up the stairs, trying not to grumble slightly at the weight of it. Of course, that may have been her fault for stuffing most of her clothes into it but honestly how the hell was she supposed to know how much to pack for a job like this anyway.

Besides she was in a rich person’s house, weren’t rich people supposed to have elevators? 

She found the room easily enough. Tissaia’s door didn’t exactly have a nametag on it but it was rather grand, for a door anyway. There was no doubt the master bedroom lay beyond it. So she twisted the knob to the second guest bedroom and in she went. 

It was nice. Certainly nicer than her own room at her apartment in terms of its general size and quality of furnishings. A four-poster bed faced onto a rather pretty view of the garden that looped its way around the house and there was a small walk-in closet off to the side. Unfortunately no attached bathroom so Yennefer would have to go looking for that if she wanted to brush her teeth before bed.

The only thing was that it felt … cold. Not temperature wise but much like what she had seen of the rest of the house it had no personality. Nothing to suggest that people had made a home in these rooms. And Yennefer knew guest bedrooms always felt a bit like that but this, honestly, it kind of just felt like a hotel. 

As she stripped off the suit and climbed into some PJs she wondered if Tissaia’s room, her study felt anything like this too. If they also had that soulless vibe, or if the woman had put more effort into the places where she actually spent her time. 

She had to do a little more digging around in her suitcase to find her toothbrush and then she crept out into the hall. Her feet were quiet on the plush carpet and it wasn’t too difficult to find the bathroom. It was on the other side of the balcony looking out onto the back lawn. 

It was only when she had stepped out of the bathroom that she remembered she was supposed to have called Jaskier and let him know how her first day had gone. Glancing at the door to the balcony she examined if there were any sensors linked to the alarm - there weren’t and she would have to speak to somebody about that but right now it served her purposes. 

She stepped out onto the balcony, grateful for the bit of fresh air. She pulled the door until it was almost closed, leaving it somewhat ajar for fear that it could possibly lock on her. And she would die of embarrassment if she had to call Vilgefortz to come rescue her from this balcony. 

She glanced at her phone, it was late. Jaskier might be awake, or asleep, or streaming. If it was the last two there was no hope of getting through but it was worth a shot. She dialed his number and put the phone up to her ear. 

It rang and rang and rang, eventually asking her to leave a message. 

“Hey Jaskier, just assuring you I’m not dead I suppose. I’m sure you’ll be glad to hear that. As first days go it wasn’t totally shitty? Okay, maybe a bit but I’ll give you all the details later, well the ones you’re allowed to hear anyway. Please remember to water my plants, if they die then you die. Night Jaskier.” 

Yennefer sighed and slipped the phone into the pocket of her shorts. She stepped back inside and slid the door shut. Double checking to make sure it was locked. 

“Your boyfriend?”

Yennefer nearly jumped out of her skin. 

She whirled around to see Tissaia standing at the door to her bedroom. She looked the most relaxed that Yennefer had ever seen her. A black silk slip covered her frame and didn’t leave much to the imagination. Yennefer’s gaze traveled up the expanse of bare legs that were now on show, heart beating out of her chest. 

Yennefer needed to get a grip. 

“I heard a voice,” Tissaia said, as an explanation. 

“My apologies, ma’am,” Yennefer forced herself to draw her eyes away from Tissaia’s legs. “And not my boyfriend, my roommate. I was checking in to let him know that everything is alright.” 

Tissaia opened her mouth as if to ask her another question but then pursed her lips, seemingly thinking better of it. 

“Again, I’m sorry if I woke you up.”

“It’s fine, I hadn’t managed to get to sleep yet.” 

“Goodnight, Ms. de Vries.” 

“Goodnight, Yennefer. Sweet dreams.” 

And with that Tissaia disappeared into her room and Yennefer’s heartbeat went back to normal. She padded back to “her” room and climbed in bed, sighing as she sunk into the mattress. Images of Tissaia’s bare skin flashed through her mind and it was all Yennefer could do as her eyes blinked shut to hope that those sweet dreams she spoke of never came.

Because that would be absolutely the last thing she needed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which Yennefer really wants some cinnamon toast crunch and Tissaia really wants Yennefer to stay away from her kitchen appliances. 
> 
> Also, Yennefer wins a wet T-shirt contest (Technically).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping to get this chapter out a bit earlier, but you know life! I would like this to update at least once (maybe twice) a week moving forward though. And a reminder that if you want to you can follow me on Tumblr @ https://lover-of-queens.tumblr.com/ for writing updates or just to come and say hi! 
> 
> Hope you enjoy my lovelies!

“Shit. Fuck,” Yennefer said under her breath as she yanked her hand back from the offending toaster. Just at that same moment, there was a  _ ding!  _ and the toast Yennefer was making popped up - burnt to a crisp. So, no breakfast for her this morning then. 

“Is something the matter?” heels came clacking on the marble floor behind her. 

Yennefer spun around, keeping her hands behind her back in an attempt to hide the injury and sucked in a breath as her hand brushed against the countertop, causing the pain to flare up once more. Her eyes met Tissaia’s and oh, of course, it was 7 o’clock in the morning and the woman looked perfectly put together. Not a single strand of hair out of place, her locks pulled tightly into a bun. 

Whereas, Yennefer had yet to brush her teeth for the morning. Or change out of her pyjamas, but that damn information packet Triss had given her had said Tissaia left for the office at 8:30, so she thought she had more time. She didn’t realize she would have to be up at the ass crack of dawn just to be ready and waiting for Tissaia. 

Just like her dream last nig- no. Yennefer ground her teeth as she pushed the memories of all the tantalizing scenarios her brain had decided to dream up for her last night. She could not afford to think about Tissaia sprawled out on her sheets, red lace leaving very little to the imagination. 

A sudden snap brought Yennefer’s attention back to the woman in front of her, Tissaia’s eyebrow raised. “Earth to Yennefer.” 

“No ma’am. Nothing is the matter.” 

And nothing could be the matter, Yennefer chided herself. She needed to remember that no matter what her brain … or other parts of her … might desire, the images that filled her head were nothing more than simple fantasy. The woman who was standing in front of her, looking like she would rather be dealing with anyone besides Yennefer this fine morning, that was the reality. 

“So you did not just burn your hand on my toaster?”

“It’s not my fault you have a devil toaster!”

Before she could think twice about the outburst, movement on the stairs caught Yennefer’s eye as she saw Vilgefortz making his way down, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He took one look at her, then Tissaia, and quietly ran back up the stairs. Presumably to change out of his duckie boxers. 

She wondered what would-be attacker he would have scared off in those last night. Either way, that bastard. He may not be embarrassing himself in front of Tissaia this morning, but he would also never hear the end of it from Yennefer. She didn’t know which was worse. 

Tissaia sighed. “I was not aware that I would have to be taking care of my own bodyguards.” But she came around to Yennefer and grabbed at her injured hand. 

Yennefer swallowed as Tissaia held her hand, trying to investigate the damage, only too aware that this was the first time they were touching. Which really should have been nothing, because touching wasn't outlawed or anything, it was bound to happen when she had to jump on people to get them out of a spray of bullets. Yet, as Tissaia’s bare flesh touched her own Yennefer swore she could feel sparks. 

Maybe it was just leftover adrenaline from burning herself. Yes, that must be it. There could certainly be no other explanation. 

Tissaia let Yennefer’s hand drop, really quite abruptly, and it hit straight into the countertop. Yennefer had to clamp her lips together at the risk of letting out a whimper. She’d been shot before, this was just embarrassing. 

“You’ll be fine, just run some cold water over it.” 

Take a whole cold shower more like it. 

“And maybe stay away from the toaster. Or any and all kitchen appliances. Try cereal instead, I don't know how you could possibly hurt yourself with that.” 

Yennefer cradled her hand. “Not to be rude ma’am, but your cereal collection leaves much to be desired.” 

Tissaia pinched the bridge of her nose. Yennefer took it as a sign of victory. 

“Perhaps, we could add some cinnamon toast crunch to the shopping list?” Yennefer asked, as sweetly as she could manage. 

Tissaia wordlessly pointed at the shopping list pinned to the fridge and left the kitchen, not sparing one glance back. 

* * *

Tissaia left the kitchen to go stand by the front door and busy herself with the mail currently sitting in a heap on the floor. She took her time going through the various letters, offers, and otherwise garbage that she simply could not care less about. Her gaze flicked up every now and again, waiting for Yennefer to exit her kitchen. 

She was not hiding from her, certainly not. Tissaia did not hide. It was just that she was still not entirely certain what to make of the girl. Also, she wanted some space. It was only the second day of this arrangement and she was already exhausted from having people around her at all times. 

She most certainly did not release a sigh of relief when Yennefer walked up the stairs to get ready for the day and she could finally get to spend some quiet time in her own damn kitchen. She set about making a cup, not a pot, this was  _ her  _ coffee so that she would have something to drink as she made her way through the morning news. She was sure she would need something strong to see what new fresh horrors would await her in the pages of the paper. She briefly considered spiking her beverage with tequila but decided against it. That was for particularly hard days, of which she was hoping today would not be one. 

“Good morning, ma’am,” Vilgefortz said, walking into the kitchen, so much cheer in his voice Tissaia might just murder him for it. 

Tissaia thought she might just cry. She once again eyed the cupboard where she kept the hard liquor. Then, with a sigh, she turned around to face her assailant. Okay, fine, her bodyguard but right now they were starting to feel like the same thing. 

Perhaps she could turn this into a good thing. Tissaia loved information, loved wielding it, being in the know. And yesterday Yennefer had been very tight-lipped about her relations to Vilgefortz but Tissaia was not stupid. There was something beneath the surface of their relationship and she wanted to know. And considering she was putting her safety in their hands, she thought she had the right to.

Maybe Vilgefortz would not be as secretive as his co-worker, or perhaps he would be. Either way, Tissaia would learn something. 

“And how are you this morning, ma’am?”

Tissaia set the paper down on the kitchen island. “It has already been  _ quite  _ the morning and I've only been awake for an hour.” 

Tissaia watched as Vilgefortz’s eyebrows crinkled.

“Indeed?” he asked. Hmm, so he was playing dumb then. 

“Yes, well you were coming down the stairs when you saw your  _ friend  _ burn herself on the toaster, no?” 

“You saw-”

Tissaia chucked as she raised her cup to her lips. “Quite the interesting choice in undergarments, Vilgefortz. I must admit I did not have you pegged as a man who cared particularly much for ducks.” 

Tissaia drank her coffee as Vilgefortz tried to splutter out a response, raising her eyebrows as he failed to produce one. 

“Do not make the mistake of underestimating me. Many men have found it to be their downfall.” 

Vilgefortz bowed his head. 

Tissaia licked her lips, she felt like a predator stalking its prey. She would have to be much more delicate in her attack than she would like though, she had no desire for Vilgefortz to get overly suspicious about her line of questioning. Let him think it was just small talk. That would suit her needs quite well. 

“She is quite something is she not?” Tissaia asked. 

Several emotions crossed his face and she felt as though she could not read a single one of them. It was rather disconcerting. Perhaps he would be more difficult to crack than she had anticipated. 

“An acquired taste?” Tissaia asked, hoping that she was not pressing her luck. 

Vilgefortz ran his hands through his hair, stalling but Tissaia did not think that he looked in any way uncomfortable. “If she is an acquired taste, then she is one I have yet to acquire.”

“Is that so?” 

“I don’t wish to speak ill of my co-workers, ma’am. Without getting into much of our history, let’s just say that she and I have had some disagreements in the past. However, those disagreements will not affect my ability to keep you safe in the slightest.” 

Tissaia did not miss the way he said ‘my’ as opposed to ‘our’. Especially since Yennefer had emphasized both of their dedications the previous day. She would not push the matter much further, not today at least. A rather interesting picture was beginning to form in her mind. But she so hated to be proved wrong, so she would not make too many assumptions just yet. 

“That being said, if you should have any problems I assure you Triss is extremely accommodating and will be able to see to any changes you need to be comfortable.” 

Tissaia nodded once. She would not be reaching out to their boss to have Yennefer removed, there was no need to do so at this present time. But, perhaps, she would reach out to see whatever this drama between them was about. She figured this Triss may be inclined to release this information to her. Especially considering she and her father were the woman’s biggest clients. Something to file away for later then. 

Yennefer walked into the kitchen, eyes going straight for Tissaia. Tissaia held her gaze, impressed that she had been so quiet as to escape both of their notices. Tissaia raked her eyes over Yennefer’s body; she was wearing a suit similar to the one she wore yesterday, only this was a deep blue. The colour suited her. 

“Time for us to leave,” Tissaia said, pouring the rest of her coffee down the drain. 

* * *

That little  _ cunt weasel _ Yennefer thought, staring at Vilgefortz from the other end of the hallway. Her back pressed against Tissaia’s office door. 

Really they were quite lucky in terms of strategic positioning. Tissaia’s office was very private, situated at the end of a long hallway, and nestled in the corner. The rest of the offices along the stretch had been cleared of people. With Vilgefortz at the beginning and Yennefer at the end of the hallway, it meant the place should be mostly secure.

However, the floor to ceiling windows Tissaia's office had made Yennefer feel much less safe. Truly she would have preferred, for Tissaia’s safety, to be stationed inside her office at all times. That way should glass start breaking she would be in a better position to protect Tissaia from speeding bullets. 

Tissaia had agreed, though Yennefer saw it pained her to do so. There was only one exception. Any meeting that Tissaia deemed to be well above Yennefer’s clearance level she was to maintain her post outside of the door instead. 

Which was how Yennefer found herself here, staring daggers into the back of Vilgefortz’s head. She had heard all but the beginning of his conversation with Tissaia and she was pissed. And rightfully so. She couldn’t fucking believe he had told Tissaia to speak to Triss and have her removed. 

Okay, maybe not in so many words but that was clearly what he was getting at. And to insinuate that she wasn’t adept at protecting Tissaia because of their feud? Because Vilgefortz had refused to forgive her for a mistake? Horrific, and she felt sick that now was indebted to him for not telling Tissaia why it was that he didn’t trust her.

There was a tap at the door and Yennefer stepped aside to allow Mr. de Vries to exit. He walked straight past her and down the hallway, fuming. She assumed the meeting went well then. Yennefer gave Tissaia a minute or two to compose herself before she stepped inside the office once more. 

She flopped in the chair opposite Tissaia’s desk, the woman pinching the bridge of her nose so tightly Yennefer wasn’t even certain that she had realized she had company. Yennefer resisted the urge to swing her legs over the arm of the chair, mainly because she was sure Tissaia would see it as being completely unprofessional. Partially because she was trying to prove to Jaskier that she wasn’t some walking gay™ stereotype. So far she was failing miserably. 

“So, what do you do here?”

Tissaia glanced up at her. “I presumed you received a rather large file detailing all such things. At least the information that is publicly available.” 

Yennefer leaned forward. Batting her eyelashes at Tissaia she said, “Yes ma’am. But it was filled with enough jargon to send a poor college dropout like me to sleep.” 

Tissaia sighed, but she dropped her hands into her lap. Yennefer braced herself for a snarky dropout comment, she was already regretting letting it slip out, but it never came. 

“I clean up this company’s messes. And considering we have our hands in everything from political campaigns to pharmaceuticals, there are a lot of messes to clean up. I was trained in law, so I'm mostly involved in handling legal matters, finding loopholes to whatever fuckups the board has committed. But -”

Tissaia paused, Yennefer raised her eyebrows. “Please do go on, ma’am. I appreciate the  _ candor _ , even if I know it’s only because you’ll sue me to hell and back should anything from our conversations be repeated.” 

“Yes, well, as I am also my father’s daughter, I have enough contacts who owe me favours here and there. And should the law not side with us on those aforementioned messes …” 

“So, you make sure whatever illegal activities this company carries out are forever swept beneath the rug.” 

Tissaia looked like she was ready to pinch the bridge of her nose again or throw Yennefer out of her office. And with Vilgefortz watching from down the hall that was an embarrassment Yennefer could not afford. As much as she hated rich people getting away with shit because of their money, she would swallow her pride here. For Triss, because she promised her. 

And Yennefer did not make promises lightly. Just because nobody had ever kept the ones they made her did not mean she would do the same. 

She propped her elbows up on Tissaia’s table, even though the woman looked less than impressed by her doing so, and clasped her hands together, resting her chin on top. She shot Tissaia her best award-winning smile. 

“I bet it’s not even the fun illegal shit you help them get off from.” 

Tissaia’s mouth fell open ever so slightly, just enough that Yennefer realized she was shocked with this sudden turn in the conversation, before she promptly shut it. She opened her mouth, and then shut it again. 

“It’s alright ma’am. Take your time.” 

Okay maybe Yennefer would get thrown out of the office today but it was worth it to see Tissaia squirm. 

“Fun illegal shit?” Tissaia said and Yennefer just knew it was the first time the phrase had ever fallen from her lips. 

“You know, getting blackout drunk with your friends on a Tuesday night and stealing a goat from your local petting zoo. Maybe trying to outrun the police with said goat. That kind of fun illegal shit.” 

“That little rhetorical story has too many details to it for my liking.” 

And while Tissaia didn’t look  _ happy  _ or anything, at least the tension had faded from the room. Which had been Yennefer’s intent, making it her second victory of the day. She would be sure to celebrate with a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch at the first moment she was able to do so. 

Speaking of food, her stomach growled. Yennefer didn’t bother looking apologetic either. She ate when Tissaia ate and it was now pushing two o’clock and she was fucking starving. It didn’t help that because of the mishap with the toaster this morning, she had not received the hearty breakfast which she had hoped for. Vilgefortz had offered her a granola bar in the car. Yennefer, in a show of pride, had stupidly declined. 

Tissaia glanced at the clock on the wall, then back to Yennefer. 

“Soon.” 

* * *

Soon ended up being thirty minutes later and Yennefer felt like she was on the verge of hallucinating food. But then Tissaia had started gathering her stuff, slipping her phone into her handbag, and announced it was time to get going. 

It was pouring with rain. And neither Yennefer nor Tissaia had an umbrella. Vilgefortz might have had one but he had gone on ahead to secure the restaurant before Tissaia got there. So he would be of no use to them. 

It didn’t help that both of them were too stubborn to go back inside the building and get one, especially when they only had a block to go to get to their destination. 

“Are you sure you don’t have an umbrella?” Tissaia asked. She was trying to hide it but Yennefer saw the goosebumps raised on her bare skin, how her arms were meant to look casually folded but really she was sheltering against the cold. 

And it was cold. Fall seemed to be coming faster than expected. 

“If I did, I don’t think we would be standing in the rain, Ms. de Vries.” 

“So that bulge in your pocket is not a mini-umbrella then?” 

Before Yennefer had the good sense to think before she spoke the words were out of her mouth, “Maybe, I’m just happy to see you.” 

Tissaia sighed. “Must you?”

“The joke was right there.” 

Tissaia shot her an incredulous look. Yennefer sighed. 

“The bulge is pepper spray.” 

Tissaia leaned back against the building, eyes cast to the storm raging in front of them. “Not much that can do to help us, now.” 

No, there wasn’t much Yennerfer could do with pepper spray. As much as she would love to have the power, pepper spraying a storm to get it to go away was not in her wheelhouse. However, she had been trained to always put the client and their needs above herself and her own. 

“Here,” Yennefer said, shrugging out of her jacket and wrapping it around Tissaia. “Take this.” 

And Tissaia did. Though the jacket was much too big for her, it was perfect for helping to keep off most of the rain and so they made their way down the street. Yennefer’s hand reached out for Tissaia every so often to help her sidestep puddles. But the touch was always light and gone within moments. 

Eventually, the two of them burst into the restaurant that Tissaia had chosen for lunch. It was nearly empty, the exposed light bulbs hanging from the ceiling casting a warm glow over the place. The wooden walls were dotted with shelves housing plants and their pots. 

It was cute, and a little more quaint than Yennefer was expecting Tissaia’s tastes to be. But she wasn’t complaining. Especially when they sat down at a table in the back and their meals were set down at once. The joys of calling ahead. 

Vilgefortz was sitting at a table near the door, he met Yennefer’s eyes and nodded once.  _ Secure _ . Excellent, because Yennefer was finally ready to start eating. Except when she turned back to her food Tissaia was staring at her, or her chest, to be more precise. 

“The jacket was much appreciated, though I believe you need it more than I do now,” Tissaia said. 

Yennefer looked down. The rain had soaked through parts of her white - well she supposed it was technically transparent now - shirt. It was definitely  _ clinging _ to her in certain places, revealing the black lace of the bra she had picked out that morning. 

Yennefer took the jacket back, but she rested it on the back of her chair. “Best I dry off, before putting this back on,” she offered as an explanation. 

Tissaia just jabbed her fork in her salad. Yennefer started inhaling her mashed potatoes with as much decency as she could, for the sake of the woman opposite her. The two were quiet for several minutes, focused more on the food in front of them than anything else. Eventually, Yennefer felt Tissaia’s eyes on her again. 

“Is it lonely?” Tissaia asked. 

Yennefer didn’t quite know how to respond. She had a fair guess at what the ‘it’ was that Tissaia was referring to but … she wasn’t expecting the conversation to go there. 

“I mean,” Tissaia started, “it cannot be easy to be away from all the people you care about for such a long period of time. Family, friends …  _ partners _ .” 

“Well that problem is fairly easy to fix if you care for very few people,” Yennefer said, but a ghost of a smile was playing on her lips. “I believe I mentioned yesterday that family wasn’t a big thing for me. I have few friends, the only one I really care about I’ll still be seeing when I take my personal days. And quite frankly, I almost don’t mind having a bit of a break from Jaskier. He can get frighteningly co-dependent at times, this might do him some good.” 

Tissaia raised her eyebrows slightly. 

“Oh, my roommate,” Yennefer clarified. “The one I was talking to last night. And as far as partners go … it’s been a while since the last one of those. So, no worries there.” 

“I see.” 

“You sound surprised.” 

“Should I not be?” 

Yennefer smiled, she was going to take that as a compliment even if Tissaia didn’t mean it as such. “A lot of people don’t come running into relationships with people who spend most, if not all, of their days at their jobs. The only other people who understand are in the industry, and those relationships never end well.” 

Tissaia’s gaze flicked to Vilgefortz and back so quickly it was almost imperceptible, but Yennefer could see connections forming in her mind. Completely and utterly wrong connections. 

“Absolutely not,” Yennefer whispered before Tissaia could ask. “Vilgefortz and I were never together.” 

“And yet, it would explain so much,” Tissaia retorted. But she didn’t press the issue and Yennefer was more than happy to let it drop. 

Besides that way she didn’t have to get into the fact that even when she had tried dating outside of the industry, most people usually ran away from Yennefer’s sharp tongue. And fuck them for it, Yennefer would not dull herself for anyone. Nor would she ask anyone else to do the same. 

Tissaia’s gaze on her was sharp but Yennefer held it. She knew Tissaia’s type and so she knew the woman would keep digging. Yennefer didn’t know how but Tissaia had picked up a scent of what she had been trying to hide. Right now, she was walking down the wrong path but Yennefer wouldn’t be surprised if she found her way onto the right one soon enough. 

The truth always came out didn’t it? And who better to seek it out than the woman whose job was burying it. 

Yennefer took a sip of her water, and wondered, not for the first time, if this job would truly be her undoing. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which Yennefer concocts a plan to get over this newfound attraction to Tissaia ... and fails miserably as soon as she sees her in a pretty dress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a bit of a hiccup with Yennefer at the start but stay with me, it'll be worth it ;) 
> 
> Also, Rita makes an appearance in this chapter in the sense that is spoken about/referred to a couple of times. All of my knowledge of her comes from reading other people's fics and shitposts on Tumblr. So If she feels a little out of character, I am terribly sorry! 
> 
> Happy reading lovelies <3

“So, tell me dearest Yennefer, have you fucked her yet?”

“Julian Alfred Pankratz!” Yennefer admonished, before having the good sense to roll over and bury her face into one of the pillows on her bed. She had hoped it would block out the rest of the nonsense spewing from his mouth or at least get him to leave her alone. She felt him plop on the bed next to her, the mattress sinking ever so slightly. No such luck then. 

It was Sunday. This meant that it had been essentially a week since Yennefer had started guarding Ms. de Vries and today was her first personal day. Triss mandated it - or the laws governing their  _ great  _ nation did - whoever it was Yennefer was grateful. While she was enjoying not sitting on her ass all day as she had been for a long time, she didn’t mind the break from Vilgefortz. 

And she certainly didn’t mind the break from Tissaia. While they had established something amicable, at least something that wasn’t outright hostile, Yennefer didn’t trust her. She would say she trusted her about as far as she could throw her, but Tissaia was rather small so Yennefer imagined that if pressed to she could throw the woman quite far. 

They had fallen into a bit of a routine. Lunch at whatever restaurant Tissaia had deigned upon that day, Yennefer wished Tissaia would listen to her requests to consider eating lunch in her office. Vilgefortz was perfectly capable of getting something to go from one of the nearby cafes and it wasn’t safe for her to be out and about at the rate she was. However, even Yennefer herself felt the hostility radiating off of every single person in the office. It was a cesspit of sharks and snakes, so Yennefer could somewhat sympathize with Tissaia’s desire to not spend every waking moment there. 

That being said … there was no shark more ferocious than Tissaia herself. Out of the five days Yennefer had spent at the office with her she believed Tissaia had made interns cry about three times. And as much as Yennefer tried not to, she saw her face in each of those interns. She saw her same pain mirrored in their teary eyes and shaky smiles when she caught their eyes. She tried to offer them one back, anything to comfort them, but that had never been her specialty. And when she was defending who seemed to be the bane of their existence, it just felt like an empty gesture. 

Most of her and Tissaia’s lunches had been quiet, sitting in an only slightly uncomfortable silence as they made their way through their meals. Occasionally Tissaia would ask her questions, prying ones that weren’t meant to be seen as such. But Yennefer had enough experience to know when someone was trying to get information out of her. She had been trained to recognize the signs, not to slip up and let any of her clients' details out no matter how insignificant they may seem. She just wasn’t expecting to have to guard her own life story. 

So she gave Tissaia short, simple answers and though she was sure the other woman wasn’t thrilled with her lack of willingness to give things away, she never showed it... her tone never changed, her face remained impassive. 

Yennefer never asked questions back. Not necessarily for lack of curiosity, she just knew what she could and couldn’t get away with. Much as she might like to push the boundaries, the last thing she wanted was for Tissaia to get her removed. And Yennefer knew there were only so many times she could let Triss down before she eventually let her go. 

And Yennefer didn’t know what she would do without this job. There was simply nothing else for her. 

“I’m going to take that as a no.” 

Yennefer screamed into her pillow. She knew there was little point trying to compose herself because Jaskier would immediately cause her to become … whatever the opposite of composed was. 

“Believe it or not, no, Jaskier. I didn’t fuck her.” 

“But you wanted to.” 

Yennefer opened her mouth to snap back with a snarky retort but then quickly realized that the words wouldn’t come to her tongue. Taking that as a victory Jaskier started bouncing up and down on her bed with all the energy of an eleven year old who had consumed way too much sugar at a very late hour. 

“Youuuuu liiiikkeeeee heeeer,” Jaskier singsonged. Yennefer thought he was being much too gleeful for her current predicament. 

She reached for Jaskier’s hands and held them in his lap. “Jaskier, this is the last time I’m going to say this. I can find somebody attractive but that  _ doesn’t _ mean, I like them or want to sleep with them.” 

Jaskier nodded slowly. 

“And if you keep pressing this, I will not hesitate to slap you upside the head nor will I pay your medical bills for any resulting damages.” 

Jaskier nodded slowly. Yennefer released a breath. 

“But you’ve totally had sex dreams about her, right?” 

Yennefer kept her mouth shut, but she watched as that gleeful look she hated all too much returned to Jaskier’s eyes. 

“YOU’VE TOTALLY HAD SEX DREAMS ABOUT HER, YOU LITTLE MINX.”

Yennefer’s face fell into her hands. “Maybe a couple,” she grumbled. By the time she had glanced back up, Jaskier was gone. She could hear his footsteps thudding around the apartment as well as his ‘ _ wheeeeeeeeeee!’ _ . She just waited patiently for him to return. 

Moments later he returned, face flushed, vocal cords exhausted and he plopped down on her bed once more. Face turned to the ceiling, back against the mattress. He quickly turned to face her. 

“What were they like?”

“I am not going into detail about my sex dreams with you, Jaskier. No matter how much you beg,” Yennefer said, her voice resolute. Mainly because she wasn’t sure how to explain to him that they had felt so vivid that one time she woke up and she was certain she felt Tissaia’s wetness soaking into the skin of her fingers. 

Jaskier pouted, an act befitting someone about twenty years his junior. After a few seconds he sighed, realizing that his friend wasn’t giving in anytime soon. 

“I don’t see what the big issue is.” 

“The issue is that some of us like to be professional. I have to see her almost every single day, do you see the problem?” 

Jaskier shook his head. “Yennefer and professional are not words I associate with each other. Did Triss hit you over the head with a baseball bat or something? Are you running a fever? Do I need to call the doctor?”

Yennefer went to pinch the bridge of her nose but then stopped herself. She knew all too well who she had picked that mannerism up from. And even though she knew Jaskier wouldn’t recognize it as a gesture so intimately Tissaia, she felt uncomfortable emulating her, especially if it should turn into a habit. 

“Maybe you were right, Jask-”

“I always am, but do go on, what was I right about now?” 

“Well remember when you said I needed to get laid? Maybe that’s all this is. It’s been forever since I’ve had sex so maybe I’ve just been repressing my horniness for so long that it just chose to manifest itself in the first really attractive person I saw.” 

Yennefer jumped up from the bed and flung open the doors to her closet with such ferocity that she was afraid there might be a crack in the wall. But that was fine because she had finally figured out a plan to get these damn dreams out of her head. And once the dreams left then so would her attraction to Tissaia. There was absolutely no way this could go wrong. 

“So, what’s the pla-” Jaskier started, before getting cut off by one of Yennefer’s shirts landing on the top of his head. He plucked it off and set it on the bed next to him, not bothering to fold it. Yennefer would probably just ball it up and shove it back in the closet when she was through anyhow. Just like the other clothes currently sailing through the room. 

Yennefer popped her head out to look at him, “The plan is you’re helping me get fucked tonight. Go get ready, your wingman skills are getting put to the test.” 

That was all the encouragement Jaskier needed and she could practically hear him skipping down the hall to his room. Her fingers grasped at the first low cut shirt she could find. It was time to fix this five foot two problem of hers.

* * *

Tissaia sat in her study, the warm glow of the desk lamp the only thing to suggest that there was a soul awake in the house. She knew she really should turn on the overhead lights, flood the room with fluorescents. It would be much better for her eyesight, as it was even with her glasses she was struggling to make out the words on the page. 

Her eyes flicked over to the grandfather clock in one of the corners of the room. It was past midnight. Perhaps her struggling to read a 40 page legal document had nothing to do with the light and everything to do with the hour. Tissaia had never been one to describe herself as a ‘night owl’. She had always thought that ten pm was a decent time to go to bed, especially as she liked to rise with first light. 

But she knew that if she were to attempt to sleep now, well, it would simply be of no use. Something had felt off the whole day, she had spent most of it with her jaw clenched, a pit of tension unfurling in her chest. If she were foolish enough to only look at the surface she would blame the change in routine. 

Tissaia loved nothing more than a sense of routine. To know what was going to happen and when. It gave her a kind of security, a kind of comfort. And while she had protested the introduction of bodyguards she was nothing if not adaptive and had adjusted to her new routine faster than even she had expected. 

But then today had been Yennefer’s personal day so to replace her that woman at the agency had sent a firecracker of a blonde woman. Sabrina or something so. Tissaia hadn’t cared to learn the last name, but the girl had seemed to rough up Vilgefortz even more than Yennefer did so at least Tissaia had  _ entertainment. _

But there was a kind of unpredictable chaos behind the girl’s eyes that left Tissaia wondering if she might burn her house down if provoked. And Tissaia was fond of the place so she would really prefer for it to stay intact. 

Perhaps it was because Sabrina reminded her of another blonde that she was close to. Or at least who she had been close to once upon a time. Tissaia had not fallen in love many times in her life and if she was being honest with herself then it really had only been once. 

Rita. 

And when Tissaia fell in love it had been in one of the most cliche of ways. Rita had been her roommate during their first year of college. Nothing had happened then, Tissaia was not foolish enough to try and start a relationship with someone she was living in essentially a cinder block with. Money could buy many things but apparently not a decently sized dorm room. 

She had fallen oh so fast and so deeply that it was plainly obvious to everyone except Rita … but she made her peace with being the best friend, with seeing Rita fall in love with a new person each week. So, when Rita had suddenly kissed her in their last year of university, Tissaia had been stunned. 

Their relationship had only grown from there and … oh … what a whirlwind of a romance it had been. Rita broke her walls down before Tissaia even realized she had them up. They’d driven around the country, wind in their hair, feeling unstoppable. And when they stopped at cheap motels despite the fact that they could both afford the best of the best, Tissaia finally knew what it felt like to be  _ alive  _ when their bare limbs intertwined underneath shitty sheets. And when Rita told her how they would right the wrongs together between breathless kisses, how they would change the whole fucking world as her fingers dipped into Tissaia’s wet heat, Tissaia believed her. 

She shouldn’t have, because Rita’s feelings were as fiery as they were fleeting. Tissaia had seen it in action for years, she just always thought that she would have been different. That she would have meant enough for something more than a perfume spritzed letter left on the side of the bed that Rita always slept on. 

They hadn’t talked for a while after that. Rita had moved on from her several times while Tissaia’s love stayed unfailing, even with her heart smashed to smithereens. Eventually, Rita had shown up at her door acting like nothing was wrong, like the three years they had spent together never existed. And at that point Tissaia had still loved her more than she loved herself, so she let Rita insert herself back into her life at great personal cost.

But it was never like it was before, for how could it be when Rita had broken her heart so thoroughly she doubted it could ever be repaired. They didn’t spend the night talking until the sun lit the sky with the orange and pink hues of dawn. The phone calls became few and far between. The visits even less, until eventually they stopped altogether. 

When the invitation to Rita’s wedding had appeared in her mail she had been shocked. Though, she didn’t know if that shock was because she had been invited or that Rita had finally found someone she loved enough to commit to for the rest of her life. 

Tissaia just wondered why it couldn’t have been her. 

So, perhaps the reason she was so stressed was that tomorrow she was supposed to set about finding a dress for the wedding. That she had responded ‘yes’ to going to because Rita had called her and begged her to come. Told her that she wanted Tissaia to be there as her best friend.  Also to tell her that the wedding was going to be incredibly lavish and to spare absolutely no expense. Which meant that Tissaia was going to have to find one hell of a dress. One that would make Rita weep. 

And with that thought she extinguished the light and exited her study, she would get no more work done tonight. She could hardly even keep up the pretense of working. She crept into her bedroom and stripped until she was wearing nothing but her underwear. Her clothes left in a heap on the floor because she was too physically exhausted to deal with them now. 

But her mind was still ever so awake, there was only one thing to do, so her fingers searched out her aching core. Her back arching off the bed as they hit against  _ that  _ spot. And when the release finally shuddered through her it was Rita’s name on her lips as she cried out.

* * *

Yennefer woke up that Monday morning, sunlight filtering through the curtains, with an absolute rager of a headache. She also couldn’t remember how much she drank last night to cause this incessant pounding in her head, but when she swung her feet off the bed she was pleased to note that the room wasn’t spinning. So at least she didn't drink  _ that _ much. 

A snore sounded from behind her and she whipped her head around. A white haired man lay naked on the other side of the bed, his back turned to her. He seemed to be deeply asleep. Good. When he woke up he would be Jaskier’s problem. Yennefer was sure Jaskier would love that. She really would deal with it herself but oh look at the time, she was going to be late for work if she didn’t get going right now. Also, she didn’t want to deal with it. 

Besides the headache, she felt good. Flashes from the previous night were coming back to her and while it wasn’t the mindblowing sex she had been hoping for … it was decent. Certainly enough to cure her whole excessive horniness problem, for now at least. So she should be able to go into work today and be completely unaffected by the sight of one Ms. Tissaia de Vries. It was going to be great. 

She just had to make sure that she could actually get to work in decent shape. Thankfully, this wasn’t her first time coming into work after getting absolutely hammered the night before so she knew what to do. And yes Triss wouldn’t approve of her antics last night but Triss was also not here. So she fixed the dark spots under her eyes in record time and popped a couple of pain pills and she was good to go. Plus the beefy guy in her room still hadn’t woken up by the time she was out the door. Another win for the day. 

Yennefer managed to make it back to Tissaia’s house by the time she was expected, okay maybe one minute later than she should have been but what was one minute. She opened the front door quietly, hoping to not immediately announce herself to the people inside. 

“You’re late,” Tissaia said from the kitchen. 

Yennefer followed her voice, “You are actively under threat of violence, I would be a little more worried if your door opened randomly.” She appeared in the kitchen to find Tissaia, mug clasped in her hands. 

“Perhaps I just know you better than you think, Miss Vengerburg,” Tissaia said, raising the mug to her lips. 

“Unlikely,” Yennefer said, taking a set at the island only because it didn’t seem like Tissaia was in a rush this morning. 

“You look well this morning.” 

Yennefer was saved from having to figure out a response to that by someone slamming into her with enough force to knock her off the barstool. She recognized the signature blonde braid as it whipped around and that was the only thing that saved her from tackling Sabrina to the ground. Tissaia looked on in what Yennefer could only describe as amused disinterest. She wasn’t even aware such emotion existed. 

Sabrina whirled around to press a kiss firmly on Yennefer’s cheek, a somewhat unusual gesture from the woman but Yennefer figured it was just because they hadn’t seen each other in a very long time. 

“Well don’t you look freshly fucked!” Sabrina said, by way of greeting. Yennefer wished she hadn’t. She also swore she heard Tissaia choke on her coffee but when she looked up the woman was the picture of unaffected. 

“Sounds like somebody had quite the off day,” Tissaia said innocently. Or as innocently as she could manage. 

Yennefer shot Sabrina a look in which she tried her best to communicate how much she wanted to see the blonde dead right now and Sabrina just continued looking at her with glee. Yennefer shuddered at the thought of her and Jaskier teaming up, hell even the thought of them in the same room together was enough to give her heart palpitations. 

“Excuse us,” she said to Tissaia before grabbing Sabrina by her wrist and dragging her out of the room. 

“I’m so glad you’re here, Yenna. Mostly because I was bored, oh don’t look at me like that. I’m happy to see you too, of course. Especially after looking at Vilgefortz’s mug the whole of yesterday. Not that it's a bad looking face, it just fills me with inexplicable rage.” 

Yennefer dragged Sabrina further down the hallway, forgetting just how loud the other woman could be at times. “Most things fill you with inexplicable rage, Sabrina. And what do you mean bored?”

“I just was hoping for some action or something,” Sabrina whined. “You know the bad guys to break a couple windows, fire off a couple of shots. Something more exciting than waiting around a stuffy house while Vilgefrotz tried to teach me how to play chess.” 

“It's a miracle Triss still employs the both of us.” 

Sabrina gave her an absolute shit-eating grin. “Fuck all this talk of work, I want to talk about who you fucked last night.” She then proceeded to thrust forward with her hips several times and Yennefer felt the desire to gouge out her eyes. 

“Nobody you’d know.” 

Sabrina pouted but quickly realized that it wouldn’t be worth the fight. Her phone chirped and she looked down and sighed, “Walk me out?”

Yennefer nodded and the two proceeded through the twisting hallways until they reached the front door in companionable silence. They had never been the absolute closest of friends but they’d gone through training together, and that was a bond that couldn’t be broken. Yennefer doubted there were many people in the world that understood her life much like Sabrina did. 

“Don’t be a stranger, alright?” Yennefer said, opening the door. 

“Never. Besides, you’ll see me again, next Sunday for Vilgefortz’s day off. We can drive Tissaia crazy, it’ll be fun! She already spent the whole of yesterday glaring daggers at me, so imagine how much mischief the two of us could get up to.” 

Yennefer scrunched her nose ever so slightly. It sounded very much like she would be babysitting two people on Vilgefortz’s day off. 

“And Yennefer,” Sabrina said as she stepped outside, throwing back one last glance at Yennefer. “It was never me who was the stranger.” 

And with that she was gone down the drive, her boots crunching on the gravel. Yennefer cast her gaze to the top of the road and saw Triss’ car, she offered a wave when she rolled her window down. Then Yennefer ducked back in the house and slammed the door shut, resting her back against the wood. 

Sabrina was right, after Yennefer had gone on leave from the agency she had cut ties with everyone who wasn’t Triss. And that was only because Triss had Jaskier wrapped around her finger, as she did with most people, and he kept letting her into their apartment despite Yennefer’s protests that she didn’t want to see anyone. 

Sabrina had texted, she had called but Yennefer had never responded. The truth was that she didn’t know what to say. Everything that had happened that night had been her fault and facing Sabrina wasn’t something she felt able to do. So she had hidden away like a coward. 

She doubted that Sabrina would allow it to all go unmentioned next Sunday. Which meant she had just under a week to figure out how the hell she was going to explain it all. With a sigh, she set off to find Tissaia and figure out exactly what the day had in store. That, at least, she should be able to handle.

When she returned she found Tissaia where she had left her. 

“Sorry about that ma’am, Sabrina can get carried away at times. What’s your itinerary for today? When I spoke with Triss yesterday she mentioned a trip just outside of the city.” 

“No need to apologize, though I will admit I didn’t expect to hear about your sexual exploits at such an early hour - or at all really.”

“I’d say it wouldn’t happen again ma’am but with Sabrina expected again, I am afraid that would be a promise I may not be able to keep,” Yennefer said, holding Tissaia’s gaze. If the woman wanted her embarrassed she would not give it to her. Yennefer was the type to talk to a stranger on the bus about those aforementioned sexual exploits if she was bored enough. Tissaia wouldn’t get a rise out of her. Yennefer was feeling quite proud of herself too, it meant her plan from last night had worked. 

Tissaia wasn’t having an effect on her anymore. Excellent. 

“A friend of mine has a boutique located just outside of the city. It is a bit of a drive but it’s a pretty one at least. I have a wedding coming up and I need a dress … and of course Rita couldn’t have a traditional wedding so she’s decided to make it Lord of the Rings themed. Or Game of Thrones, I really can’t remember.” 

“I’d sincerely hope it's not Game of Thrones themed.” 

Tissaia threw her hands up in the air. “I don’t pretend to understand pop culture. Whichever it is, I need a dress. Rita’s already told me not to bother with any of the ones I already own. How she knows what's in my closet, I don’t know. But what Rita wants Rita gets.” 

“Should I know her?”

“What? Why would you know her?” Tissaia questioned, her voice rising ever so slightly. Yennefer doubted she even realized the carefully painted mask was starting to melt from her face. Though she was intrigued, did the legendary Tissaia de Vries actually have a weak spot?

“You’re very much in the public eye, ma’am. I didn’t think it would be far fetched to assume your friends would be as well.”

“Oh,” Tissaia said, her voice dropping. “Last I heard she had decided to stop flitting around the world and went into acting. Apparently she’s done fairly well for herself, but again, I don’t do pop culture so I’ve never seen her films for myself.”

“Wait,” Yennefer started, the name suddenly ringing a bell. “Your friend is Margarita Laux-Antille? Me and Jaskier would always watch her movies the morning after getting wasted. She’s a great actress. Beautiful too.” 

Tissaia’s jaw clenched. “A great actress indeed.” 

Vilgefortz appeared in the kitchen then, and Yennefer swore Tissaia looked almost happy to see him. But Yennefer was starting to see the cracks in Tissaia’s war paint, and she realized Tissaia was just relieved to have an excuse to get out of the conversation. 

Very interesting indeed. 

* * *

The drive over to the boutique was mostly quiet. Tissaia worked in the back, on what Yennefer couldn’t tell. There was a series of papers and occasionally Tissaia would type so furiously that Yennefer was convinced she was chewing someone out via text for whatever information her work held. 

Yennefer herself was busy looking out of the passenger side window, she wasn’t in the mood to be behind the wheel. There was still a bit of a pounding in her head and the last thing she needed was to add an hours long drive to and fro, so she hadn’t complained when Vilgefortz had swiped the keys. 

And Tissaia had been right. It was a pretty drive. Once they had gotten out of the concrete and dust of the city it was like the world opened up. Trees covered every stretch of the drive, their leaves slowly turning from green to orange and yellow and red. Change was in the air and Yennefer swore she could taste it. 

The trees weren’t all. Though it wasn’t rural by any means, there was the occasional pasture and Yennefer swore she saw a cow. Neither Tissaia nor Vilgefortz believed her, but that was their problem. 

Eventually, they’d pulled into the parking area and Yennefer was excited to finally escape the classical music that Tissaia insisted on playing for the entire drive. The woman had referred to today’s music as ‘absolute drivel’ and she would rather them run the car off the road than be forced to listen to it. Yennefer did not share her feelings, but company policy meant that she had to stay alert at all times, meaning that wearing headphones and listening to her own taste in music was strictly forbidden. 

Yennefer just wished Mozart was still alive so that she might take his violin and beat him with it.

The boutique itself was cute and nestled into the surrounding woods, Yennefer presumed it was meant to give off the appearance of a cottage. From the thatched roof to the old stonework to the flowers trailing up to the entrance it was the epitome of quaint.

Until one stepped inside of course. A massive crystal chandelier took centre stage and dresses upon dresses lined the walls without making the small space feel crowded. There was a singular fitting room, circular in nature with a black satin sheet providing privacy. The place reeked of money, the stench thick enough Yennefer was starting to feel a bit nauseous. 

She clearly wasn’t the only one, she swore Vilgefortz actually turned green upon stepping inside. Though she believed his reasons were a little different. 

“This seems like a girls thing, I wouldn’t want to infringe. I’ll keep watch outside.” He said, almost in one breath, and slammed the door in on them. A second later they heard the thump as his back leaned against it from the outside. 

Before either Yennefer or Tissaia could comment, a red haired woman appeared and kissed Tissaia’s cheeks in such a hurry that Yennefer could see a sense of bewilderment in Tissaia’s eyes. Yennefer stifled a laugh which only served to draw attention to her. 

The woman looked her up and down appraisingly. “Tissaia, you’ve done well for yourself.” 

Tissaia’s gaze flickered between the woman and Yennefer in rapid succession as if not fully comprehending the statement. Then her eyes widened, “No. Ms. Vengerburg here is my bodyguard.”

Then seemingly realizing introductions needed to be made, “Coral this is Yennefer, Yennefer Coral.” 

Yennefer swore Coral almost sighed but seemed to right herself. “A shame, the two of you look oh so adorable together. Anyway, I have a set of dresses picked out based on the theme you told me. Come this way.” 

Coral set off towards a rack of silks, velvets, and laces situated just out front of the fitting room. Tissaia followed immediately afterwards, not sparing a glance back to see how that comment had affected Yennefer. Yennefer herself was trying to take a page out of Tissaia’s book and school her face to be neutral and ignore the pounding in her heart at that comment. 

This was not supposed to be happening. She had fixed this problem. She was going to kill Jaskier. She knew it wasn’t technically his fault but still. She needed to divert her thoughts elsewhere. 

Yennefer was content to just hang back, getting involved in her client’s business was generally something she was not supposed to do. And while she considered herself somewhat fashionable, fashion definitely wasn’t her  _ thing _ and she hated feeling out of her league. 

However, it would seem her wish would not be granted. Coral shouted, “Yennefer, come over here!” 

Yennefer walked over, trying to gauge Tissaia’s reaction but her back was turned. “I really don’t wish to insert myself into anything.” 

“Nonsense!” Coral said, gesturing to the row of dresses, “when it comes to choosing the perfect there can never be too many opinions.” 

“Stay,” Tissaia said, though her attention was focused on the fabrics in front of her. “You know the theme, I’m sure Rita would be thankful if I walked in there fitting it.” 

Yennefer just nodded. She wasn’t sure what else to say or do. 

Coral showed them two dresses first, both were met with displeasure from Tissaia and Yennefer. The first was a pink, somewhat poofy number and after Yennefer’s joke that it would make Tissaia look like the tooth fairy, it was quickly cast aside.

“Though you would be the right height for the role,” Yennefer whispered to Tissaia. 

Surprisingly Tissaia shoved her lightly. “Oh shut up,” she whispered back, but there was no malice in it. 

The next looked like it was meant for a widow in the 18th century, long trailing black fabric, all it was missing was a lace veil to go along with it. Yennefer was starting to wonder why rich people would put themselves through the absolute mockery of wearing any of these clothes. 

The next dress immediately caught Yennefer’s eye. The fabric was flowy and white with gold detailing and it trailed off ever so slightly at the back. It was sleeveless and plunged into a deep V, two ties at the front to stop that V from going even lower. And it absolutely shimmered in the light. Yennefer thought she was in love.

With the dress. 

Apparently her googly eyes had not gone unnoticed by Coral, “I know dear, it's beautiful, isn’t it? But too big for our Tissaia, though perhaps if you found a skilled enough seamstress it could be brought in.” 

Tissaia held up her hands, “I have no desire to draw this dress escapade out any longer than necessary. One of these others will be satisfactory.” 

And so Coral showed them several more options, several of which were to Tissaia’s liking. She would venture in and out of the fitting room and each time Yennefer and Coral would look at each other, making up their own secret language with their eyes. But it was a necessary one, the dresses were beautiful but they were just so stiff. 

Tissaia looked more like she was the Rectoress of some magical fantasy educational organization than a person attending a wedding. Both Yennefer and Coral were in agreement that while the dresses were certainly beautiful, they weren’t right for Tissaia. This only made Tissaia look more and more murderous each time she came out, hoping it would be the last. 

Finally, she came out in the last option, a red long sleeved gown that hugged her figure in the way the other dresses simply hadn’t. The neckline was what Yennefer believed Tissaia would call a ‘tasteful show of cleavage’ and the shoulders had bold silver metallic detailing on them. Simply put, Tissaia looked stunning. 

And Yennefer was quickly aware that her problem of being attracted to Tisssaia had not been solved at all. Rather she had put a bandaid on a bullet hole and now the blood was thrumming through her veins with a heat that Yennefer didn’t think possible. 

Tissaia must have seen the look of approval on their faces because her shoulders relaxed. The dress had been found, and Yennefer didn’t miss her slight twirl of the skirts in approval. 

“Oh darling, you look beautiful, just hold there for a moment. I have a necklace that will go perfectly with that dress!” Coral exclaimed, before venturing out to a different part of the store, leaving Yennefer and Tissaia alone. 

Yennefer immediately averted her eyes back to the white and gold dress she had been admiring earlier, too afraid that Tissaia would try to meet her gaze. Yennefer didn’t know what the woman would find brimming in them. 

“You should try it on,” Tissaia said. 

“Triss pays me well, but not that well.” 

Coral appeared then, carrying a silver necklace in hand, “oh don’t be silly sweetheart! It can be fun just to play dress up, go try it on.” 

Yennefer met Coral’s eyes and saw a genuine offer there, it wasn’t pity, and so she took her up on it. The dress was fairly simple to put on, unlike many of Tissaia’s which had required Coral to disappear into the fitting room along with her, to deal with ribbons or zippers or anything of the like. 

When Yennefer finally got the dress on she took a moment to pause in the mirror. She had never seen herself like this before, the black of her hair complimented the light of the dress perfectly. She looked simply  _ ethereal _ . She didn’t know how she could ever wear anything besides this dress ever again. 

With a breath she pushed the privacy curtain aside and stepped out to her audience, her eyes going straight for Tissaia’s. Coral’s response was immediate, absolutely gushing over how beautiful Yennefer looked, ‘ _ oh doesn’t she look so beautiful Tissaia, I must go find my camera’ _ , but Yennefer didn’t hear any of it. 

Because Tissaia was absolutely speechless. Her lips parted ever so slightly in surprise and Yennefer was almost certain that she gulped. Yennefer held her eyes as neither of them said anything, because what words would be comparable to the look on Tissaia’s face? 

But then Coral rushed back in, brandishing a polaroid camera and the moment was broken. Tissaia’s eyes went over to the woman immediately, but the tension hadn’t left her shoulders. 

“Oh Coral,” she admonished, seeing the camera in her hands, “not everything needs to be photographed.”

“I won’t hear anything of it, Tissaia go and pose with Yennefer in front of the curtain, it should make for a great background.” 

While Tissaia looked like she would really do anything else, Coral was not a woman who seemed to take no for an answer and so Tissaia ended up next to Yennefer. Both of them looked incredibly uncomfortable with a camera pointed at their faces. 

“There’s no need to be so stiff ladies! Tissaia put your hand around her or I will come over there and do it myself.” 

Tissaia’s arm snaked around Yennefer’s waist as soon as the words were out of Coral’s mouth. Yennefer’s own mouth went dry, and not wanting Coral to bark any more demands at her, she rested her hand lightly on Tissaia’s back. 

“Okay, one,” Coral said as the flash went off, “smile ladies, let's take another just to be safe.”

The flash went off once more and Coral looked positively gleeful. As soon as it looked like Coral was done with the two of them, Tissaia immediately pulled away from Yennefer. 

“You can go in first,” Tissaia said, gesturing at the privacy curtain. 

Yennefer was going to protest but … it didn’t feel right. She disappeared back into the fitting room and set about getting undressed, more than a little sad to have to say goodbye to that beautiful piece of fabric. She could hear low whispering coming from just outside, but she couldn’t quite make out the words. 

Once she was back in her own clothes, she saw it was only Tissaia left inside. 

“Coral had to make a phone call, she’ll be back shortly,” Tissaia said as she stepped into the spot that Yennefer had just vacated. 

It was about a minute later when Yennefer heard her name hissed through the fabric. At first, she thought she was hearing things but the second time she heard it she jumped up, adrenaline thrumming through her body until she pushed the curtain aside and realized there was nobody attacking Tissaia. 

Instead, all she found was an exasperated Tissaia, “I would ask Coral but since she’s stepped out that’s a bit difficult at the moment. Would you mind?” 

Tissaia pointed at her back and Yennefer saw the offending zipper. It had got caught up in the burgundy threads.

“Of course, ma’am,” Yennefer said moving forward until she was close enough to disentangle the threads. Her fingers worked as quickly as she could without tearing the ridiculously expensive fabric. Once it had been untangled, Yennefer realized the next problem. There was no way that Tissaia had the flexibility to get the zipper down from its current position, meaning that Yennefer would have to …  _ unzip her.  _

Yennefer swallowed as she reached for the zipper once more, pulling it down ever so slowly so that it wouldn’t catch. Yennefer’s breath caught in her throat as more and more of the bare skin of Tissaia’s back was revealed to her. It took all of her strength to stop herself from reaching out and tracing a finger down the curve of Tissaia’s spine. 

_ Gods above, this woman was perfect.  _

Once Yennefer had gotten the zipper down to a place that she deemed Tissaia could get out of the dress without any help, she escaped from the fitting room. She tried to catch her breath as quietly as she could, but there was only one thought going through her mind right now. 

_ Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no.  _

_ FUCK.  _

Because Yennefer couldn’t deny her attraction to Tissaia anymore, or pass it off as something else. She was doomed. Absolutely and utterly doomed. 

By the time that Coral had stepped back in and Tissaia had finished changing, Yennefer had managed to somewhat compose herself. She hung back by the fitting room as Tissaia went to pay for her purchase, trying to put as much space and she could between the two of them that would still allow her to do her job. 

Then, her eyes caught the photos that Coral had taken, they were sat on the table outside of the fitting room and Yennefer couldn’t stop herself from wandering over to look at them. She picked one up gently, as though her touch might make the image disintegrate. 

Coral was right. Her and Tissaia did look wonderful together. The hints of awkwardness they had felt in the moment hadn’t translated to the photo at all, they fit together like their bodies had been made for each other. Yennefer’s smile was the one of someone who had been too used to cameras being shoved in her face, the smile too big to seem real, too cheesy. And maybe Yennefer would have dismissed it had she not seen the contentment in her eyes. 

Even Tissaia’s smile, though small packed a punch. Her eyes were on Yennefer, her head tilted slightly upwards. But Tissaia was used to taking photographs, Yennefer chided before she think herself special. Tissaia knew how to pose for a camera. 

Yet still, Yennefer shoved the polaroid into the pocket of her pants, thankful they went deep enough to hold it without damaging it. There was no harm with keeping it, right? 

It would be a nice little keepsake after all, when all of this was over. A reminder that it had happened.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the moment they shared, Tissaia pulls away for reasons Yennefer can't understand. But with Triss insisting there's intel that an attack could be in the works Yennefer finds that she has more pressing issues to deal with than Tissaia freezing her out. 
> 
> Tissaia herself doesn't put much merit in the threat, but some people have to learn things the hard way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, let me apologize I had really hoped to have this chapter out earlier but its been a really stressful week or so and I didn't want that stress to leech into my writing. Second, stick with me with because I promise things will only be heating up from here ;) 
> 
> Happy reading! <3

The vibrations of her phone buried somewhere in the depths of the sheets jolted Yennefer from her sleep, the sun only just starting to pour in past the white linen curtains. Her hands searched through the sheets with as much haste as her groggy brain could manage, wishing she had had the foresight not to fall asleep scrolling through memes on Twitter. Perhaps then her phone would have been on the bedside table and not lost somewhere in the duvet. 

She caught it on the last ring, not bothering to check the caller ID. 

“Good morning, Yennefer,” Triss’ chirpy voice came through the speaker. “I hope I didn’t wake you.” 

“No, not all,” Yennefer said, though the sleep in her voice betrayed her. She fought the urge to yawn and add insult to injury.

“I’m sorry to be calling you this early but I just had a report sent to me and our sources have picked up increased chatter on the dark web about Ms. de Vries. It could be nothing, or it could be a sign that an attack may be in the works. I know you always are, but I figured a reminder to keep vigilant wouldn’t hurt.” 

Yennefer nodded, seemingly forgetting Triss couldn’t actually see her, before saying “I’ll be on my guard. Will you tell Vilgefortz or do you want me to?” 

“I actually just got off the phone with him, so no need. Also, I figured it would give you a couple extra minutes to sleep in.” 

Yennefer made several noises of protest and she was pretty sure that none of them were actual words, but they got the point across. 

“Yennefer, you forget just how well I know you.” 

“Well then I hope you appreciate the great sacrifice it is waking up this early,” Yennefer said, finally making the effort to sit up in bed. There would be no going back to sleep for her this morning. 

“Sacrifice greatly appreciated,” Triss laughed. “Alright love, I have to get going now. Keep your wits about you and stay safe.”

And with that the call clicked off and Triss took Yennefer’s peace of mind with her, all of the memories of the previous day came flooding back. And Yennefer was reminded of why she spent much of last night with her eyes glued to her phone in desperate search of a distraction from the flashes of Tissaia’s naked back that haunted her thoughts. 

Even when she had forced her mind to other more …  _ ethical  _ topics, she swore she could still feel the heat of Tissaia’s gaze on her when she had walked out in  _ that  _ dress. With a sigh, Yennefer forced herself out of bed in the hopes that going about her day might clear her head.

And it nearly worked, as Yennefer walked over to the dresser in the corner she busied herself with running through the day’s itinerary in her mind. Tissaia was expected at the office at the usual time, so nothing was different there. She would be taking an earlier lunch though, a ‘friend’ of hers was opening a new restaurant and had requested Tissaia’s presence for the opening. So, hopefully a new lunch spot would be the only excitement for the day.

Then she opened the top drawer, and her hand stilled on the silver handle. Her fingers clenched around it, her eyes focused on the corner of the polaroid that Coral had taken yesterday. It was tucked between her shirts, the white edges standing out against the dark fabric. It wasn’t the greatest hiding place but Yennefer had hoped that nobody would be snooping around in her room and happen upon it. She didn’t know how she would explain it.

Really she should burn it. Or set it out in the sun and let its rays steal away the image. Though neither of those options changed the fact that it was imprinted on her mind. She wondered if she were to bask in the warmth of the sun if it would steal away her memories too. She couldn’t allow herself to make the same mistakes again. 

And yet she also couldn’t bring herself to do the right thing and get rid of it. So, she tucked it back underneath an old t-shirt and vowed to forget about it. Out of sight, out of mind. 

She sighed and gathered up the first matching outfit she could find in her hands and made her way to the bathroom, wondering how she could possibly look Tissaia in the eyes knowing what was burning a hole in her dresser. 

* * *

Tissaia made the choice for her by refusing to meet her gaze when she walked into the kitchen about fifteen minutes later. Yennefer found her where she always did, sitting at the island, mug in one hand, and morning paper splayed out on the granite. Hair pulled back in a no-nonsense bun and a grey turtleneck that left everything to the imagination. 

“Good morning,” Yennefer said. 

Tissaia returned the greeting without looking up. Yennefer had to wonder if the article she was reading was just ever so interesting or if Yennefer had done something to be put out with the dogs. Her eyes flicked to the thick turtleneck and she wondered if that was simply because the weather was getting colder or if it was in response to yesterday. 

They hadn’t spoken much after getting back in the car. Yennefer had somehow tuned out whatever music Tissaia had decided on for the ride home, her thoughts going back to a night she would rather not remember. And once they had gotten back to the house, Tissaia had complained of a headache and went straight to bed. Vilgefortz had looked at Yennefer like she was at fault.

And she had stared him down because she was certain she had done nothing wrong. 

Tissaia had told her to try on the dress. Tissaia had asked her for help when her own dress malfunctioned. Yennefer had just been following orders. But the cold shoulder she was getting this morning seemed to speak some truth to Vilgefortz’s glare. And only served to confuse her further. 

“Just let me know when you’re ready to go, ma’am,” Yennefer said. The polite words felt like the only safe option in the storm that was an irritated Tissaia de Vries. 

And with that Yennefer walked out, no longer hungry. 

Her nails dug into her palms as she made her way to the front door. She felt like she was being played for a fool. After hours spent researching Tissaia, she should have known that one kind gesture did not a decent woman make. Yesterday changed nothing.

And Yennefer would be smart to not forget that. She had been hurting, blaming herself for the longest time and a pretty woman had walked into her life and Yennefer had been taken with her as a welcome distraction. But that was over now. She had a job to do and she would not allow her emotions to get involved again. 

When she walked outside a blast of cold air caught her by surprise. It was unseasonably cold and Yennefer wondered briefly if Tissaia was so powerful that she had command over the weather. But before she could consider running upstairs for a coat - and to finally destroy that polaroid - she saw Vilgefortz standing against the car. He waved her over.

She stuck her hands into the pockets of her pants and walked towards him, not missing the way his brow crinkled or the tension he held in his shoulders. 

“What’s up?” she asked. 

Vilgefortz sighed and cast his gaze to the sky, ever so overdramatic. “I have a bad feeling about today.” 

“You get bad feelings about things just as much as Sabrina gets inexplicable rage over everything. I’m not so certain how much trust to put in those feelings.” 

His eyes darkened, Yennefer wondered if it was the comparison to Sabrina. “I had a bad feeling the night you got somebody killed, Yennefer. Would you care for a repeat of that?” 

Yennefer’s blood ran cold. She felt like he had just slapped her across the face and the only thing that stopped her from physically returning the favour was the knowledge that there was a security camera on her, recording her every move. And if she physically assaulted Vilgefortz then she doubted even Triss would be able to save her. 

“Fuck you,” Yennefer seethed. “You still can’t let that go huh?” 

“Tell me, does it weigh on your conscience at all? I heard you drunk yourself silly afterwards, fucked half of the city. Somebody died on your watch because you were too foolishly naive and that’s how you choose to behave?.” 

Fuck the cameras, Yennefer jabbed her finger into chest as hard as she could, certain it would leave a bruise. “Istredd was your best friend. If you had been stationed at my door then we would be on opposite sides of this argument.”

“Actually Yennefer, I think you would find that had I been stationed at your door that night, she would still be alive.” 

Yennefer thought she might just kill him, put her hands around his neck and wring it as though it was some soggy old bath towel. But before she could enact such plans, the noise of the front door opening startled them away from each other. Tissaia met both of their eyes as she walked out, the displeasure on her face immeasurable, but she said nothing as she made her way into the car. 

The slam of the car door jolted both Yennefer and Vilgefortz into action as they took up their positions in the front. Yennefer shot him a glance and he nodded, whatever issues they had would not be discussed in front of their client. That was their conditioning. They would simply deal with this another time. 

* * *

Hours later Yennefer found herself seated opposite of Tissaia, the first time they had been alone since their awkward moment in the kitchen earlier. Yennefer had expected a chewing out once they had gotten inside the office but Tissaia decided to freeze her out instead. She told Yennefer that she had several important calls dealing with highly sensitive material and as such Yennefer would not step a foot in her office until she was called.

Which was why it was incredibly jarring that Tissaia was offering her the biggest grin that Yennefer had ever seen from her. She was certain it had absolutely everything to do with being in the pleasure of her company and nothing to do with the insane amount of paparazzi cameras focused on them. Not. 

The friend that Tissaia owed a favour to was a chef to the stars and the number of A-Listers currently seated around her was enough to make Yennefer’s head spin. Tissaia just looked bored. But of course this was just a regular Tuesday for her, Yennefer mused. 

All the tables had been reserved months before Tissaia’s bodyguards had been assigned so there was no room for Vilgefortz at the table and Yennefer was thanking every god whose existence she knew of for that. He was seated by the bar, gaze locked on the entrance and windows. It was too loud and much too busy for them to communicate via their usual ways. Instead, they were wearing earpieces, which unfortunately allowed Yennefer to hear Vilgefortz sigh deeply into her ear every couple of minutes. 

She knew they weren’t allowed to drink on the job but she was seriously considering going over to him and pouring several tequila shots down his throats in the hope that it might mellow him out. Even if it was just a little bit.

Tissaia was currently studying the menu with the intensity of someone who was only just beginning to learn how to read and had absolutely no idea what they were looking at. Since Yennefer was pretty sure Tissaia had learned to read well over thirty fives years ago she assumed it was just another excuse to avoid having to deal with her. 

Which was fine. Tissaia was welcome to do whatever she pleased, but Yennefer had been instructed to look pleasant whenever a camera was pointed at her. But not too pleasant that any would-be evildoers would see a picture of her and think her an easy target. Which was a balance Yennefer admitted she did not exactly have down pact. 

“What are you doing with your face?” Tissaia said, without looking up from the menu. 

“Trying to look pleasant, ma’am. There is an uncomfortable number of cameras pointed at us. Wouldn’t want you to make the front page of a gossip blog wondering what stormy lunch you were having with a mysterious stranger.” 

“If you don’t fix your face, we’ll end up on it for a much different reason,” Tissaia said, setting the menu down on the table. “I’ll have a glass of merlot and the house special.” 

Yennefer hadn’t even noticed the appearance of the waitress. Likely because Vilgefortz had sighed once again and blocked out the coming of her footsteps. The waitress looked at her expectantly. 

Yennefer hadn’t even had a chance to properly look at the menu. “I’ll have what she’s having, minus the merlot.” 

“Excellent choice. I’ll have those both over to you shortly.” 

When Yennefer turned her attention back to Tissaia the woman was looking at her, one eyebrow raised. “Do you even know what's in the house special, Miss Cinnamon Toast Crunch.”

“Should I?”

“Lots and lots of vegetables.” 

Yennefer fought the urge to roll her eyes. “This may shock you but I do eat vegetables.” 

Tissaia took a sip of the water that had been left on the table. “In the … admittedly ... short time I’ve known you, I don’t think I’ve seen you eat a single vegetable.” 

Yennefer leaned back in the chair, her arms crossed. “Or maybe you’re not as perceptive as you believe yourself to be.” 

Tissaia’s face darkened ever so slightly but Yennefer wasn’t sorry she had said it, though she did doubt the statement’s validity. She couldn’t necessarily play the ‘freeze you out’ game with her client but she wasn’t going to take this sudden change in mood lying down either. 

A camera flashed on them and Tissaia schooled her face immediately, the practiced action of a woman who had been forced into public life too early. Yennefer felt her heart twinge for a moment, and then she remembered that there had probably never been a day where Tissaia hadn’t had food on the table. Her earlier fight with Triss about stuck up rich bitches flashed through her mind but she pushed it back down. 

She still had work to do. Yennefer leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Ma’am, neither Vilgefortz nor I got a chance to mention it earlier since you were very busy at work -” 

“And since the two of you were busy trying to kill each other on my front lawn?” Tissaia cut her off, swishing the wine around her glass. 

Yennefer sighed. “And that yes. That was incredibly unprofessional on both of our parts and I’m sorry you had to witness it. But my point was that Triss received a report suggesting an attack could be planned very soon. While Vilgefortz and I are always on highest alert and it’s not your job, I thought it was worth mentioning.” 

“And you  _ do _ realize that I’m going to require an explanation for why murder was almost committed in front of me, correct?”

Yennefer’s response was cut off by the arrival of the waitress with their food and pleasantries. She got the first look at what she would be eating and perhaps it was a bit more …  _ green ... _ than she was used to, but she would eat every single last vegetable off the very extravagant plate even if it were only to spite Tissaia. 

She picked up her fork, ready to stab a piece of broccoli when Tissaia’s words echoed through her mind. She looked up suddenly, brows furrowed. “I’m sorry, that could not possibly be your only take away from what I just said. You did get the whole you could be in imminent danger bit, right?”

Tissaia, who had been mid-bite when Yennefer spoke, took her time until finally, she swallowed. “I’m sure it’s just my father trying to trick me into thinking this threat against me is real. Nothing to worry about, Ms. Vengerburg.” 

Yennefer had nothing to say to that. It wasn’t her place to ask Tissaia why she thought her father would make false threats against her life so she took that bite of food she’d been intending to; and tried not to show the surprise on her face when it tasted better than expected. 

Not that she had anything to worry about. Tissaia’s gaze was locked on the meal in front her. But she looked like she was enjoying it a lot less than Yennefer was. 

“Well, Ms. de Vries, whether you believe there is danger or not, it is my duty to keep you safe. Until the end.” 

Tissaia opened her mouth, to say what Yennefer didn’t know. Another camera flashed and Tissaia seemed to think better of it, busying herself with her meal. Yennefer did the same and they finished their meal in an uncomfortable silence she thought they had long got past. 

Vilgefortz approached after the Tissaia had settled the bill, and they made their way through the crowds at the front of the restaurant. They were greeted with a cacophony of screaming voices and flashing lights. 

‘ _ Tissaia over here!’ _

_ ‘Ms de Vries what do you think about your father’s decision to jack up prices on -’  _

_ ‘Who's the arm candy Tissaia?’  _

_ ‘What do you think about the newest allegations surrounding the Ban Ard Industries board?’ _

Soon Yennefer couldn’t even make out the words being shouted at Tissaia, the voices were blurring and mingling until they became one and a headache was starting to build around her temples. She did what she could to block Tissaia’s small frame from the cameras. A hard task when there were so many flashes coming from a multitude of different angles. 

She caught Vilgefortz’s eyes and saw a bead of sweat making its way down his brow. The paparazzi were starting to circle like vultures now, crowding their path to the point that Yennefer was having to roughly push people to the side in the hopes of creating a path for them to walk through. ‘ _ Faster, _ ’ she saw Vilgefortz mouth and she put her hand ever so gently on the small of Tissaia’s back. The fingers grazing the soft fabric of her shirt more a whisper of touch than anything else.

But Tissaia got the message. And now they were moving faster, not an outright run, but with enough haste that they were starting to leave the crowds behind. The paparazzi weren’t the only ones with cameras who had hoped to spot celebrities. 

As they were approaching the car, a man ducked out of a nearby alleyway and made his way over. He was drunk enough that Yennefer smelt the alcohol on his breath before she even saw him coming from the corner of her eye. 

“Tissaia de Vries, well well well, isn’t it your lucky day,” he slurred, shuffling towards them.

“Sir, I’m going to ask you once to step back,” Yennefer said, steel in her voice betraying the politeness of the words. Though as he lumbered over towards them she realized that she wouldn’t mind an opportunity to break somebody’s nose in. The hand not around Tissaia’s back was all but twitching in anticipation of the hit. 

“But I have a present for her,” he grinned, the glazed over look suddenly gone from his eyes. And then his posture shifted, from that of a city drunkard to a perfectly sober man who had taken one too many acting classes in his life. Yennefer only saw the flash of steel as he lunged forward. 

Acting on instinct, Yennefer sidestepped in front of Tissaia. His knife wasn’t long enough to go through the both of them. Vilgefortz went for the attacker, but his disguise had fooled them and he was faster than either of them realized. Vilgefortz stumbled on the curb, just managing to keep his balance. 

It gave the man enough time to take a swipe at Tissaia, but Vilgefortz had managed to throw him off his rhythm, giving Yennefer enough time to angle herself and Tissaia away from the strike. Almost enough time. Yennefer felt the serrated edge of the blade as it tore through the cotton of her shirt and sliced open her skin. 

She bit back a roar of pain and surged forward as fast as she could, knocking her head into the man’s own. Stars flickered in her vision as their skulls connected and she pulled back, dazed and almost certain she had given herself a concussion. Her vision blurred as she watched the man grimace in pain before turning and running down the alley he had come from. 

Yennefer slumped to the ground, hand finally going to the wound at her side. When she looked up Vilgefortz’s gaze was on her and she couldn’t understand why. He shouldn’t be bothering with her, he had more important things to deal with than her rapidly fading consciousness.

“Go!” she bellowed, pointing down the alleyway. He took off immediately leaving Yennefer looking at the glint of red on her fingers as they caught in the sun. Her hand dropped back to her side and she became aware of the presence of Tissaia kneeling in front of her. 

Her eyes were wide as they searched Yennefer’s for some sort of recognition, her hand reaching for the phone as she barked out orders to the emergency dispatcher. Yennefer crawled forward, trying to put herself between Tissaia and the alleyway; just in case Vilgefortz failed and the attacker came back for more. 

She tried to get to her feet, the pounding in her head hurting more than the wound but Tissaia reached for her hand and yanked her back down. Yennefer landed on her ass, the jolt of hitting concrete sent vibrations up her spine and she felt like her head was on the verge of splitting in two. 

“What do you think you're doing,” Tissaia hissed in Yennefer’s ear, as she attempted to pull Yennefer into her lap. Likely to stop her from trying to get up again. 

Yennefer thought she should get stabbed more. Especially if it meant Tissaia would put her arms around her like this. 

She wondered what Tissaia would do if she had taken a bullet for her instead. Surely that had to be worth at least one orgasm … right? Yennefer was aware that she was starting to lose her mind, though she didn’t think she could attribute it much to blood loss. He had got her, but he hadn’t gotten her that good. 

She was also aware that Tissaia had asked her a question. She just couldn’t quite remember it. Self-inflicted head injuries tended to do that to a person. But then she remembered what her job was and she started to try and stand again. She was in no state to go after him, so she would just have to hope that Vilgefortz was half as good at his job as he claimed to be. But she could try and lead Tissaia to the car, get her to some semblance of safety. 

“Yennefer, I swear to god, I know it's your job to be a hero but if you attempt to move again, I will kill you myself. The ambulance will be here soon. Ye- Yennefer?”

Tissaia shook Yennefer ever so slightly, not wanting to aggravate any of her injuries, but the girl’s eyes had fallen shut and nothing Tissaia did seemed to be having any effect at waking her up. 

Which was bad, because while Tissaia knew very little about head injuries, she knew that generally people shouldn’t fall asleep when they had them. That one should try very hard to keep the injured person awake or dire consequences would await. 

She mumbled a series of expletives under her breath and shook Yennefer a couple more times. But the girl was stubborn and refused to open her eyes for anything Tissaia did. She looked up and scanned the alleyway once more, hoping that Vilgefortz would come back, that he would have some idea of what to do. 

But he wasn’t coming, and the ambulance was still a couple of minutes out. So Tissaia figured there was only one thing that she could do to get Yennefer to wake up. She just really wished that there weren’t several cameras trained on her at this precise moment, who had no doubt just gotten the story of a lifetime. She fully expected to wake up to see her face and Yennefer’s plastered on the front pages of tabloids, respectable newspapers, and internet blogs tomorrow. Especially after she did what she was planning on. 

She took a deep breath. And then slapped Yennefer across the face as hard as she could. She barely had a moment to think about the stinging in her palm before Yennefer shot up in her lap like she had seen a ghost. 

“Did you just slap me??!!!” Yennefer’s voice had risen several octaves, and was beginning to draw the attention of the crowd who had somehow missed the rest of the assassination attempt. 

“Yes, but it was for your own go-”

Yennefer put her hand on Tissaia’s chest, the rational part of her brain which dealt like things such as respecting professional boundaries seemed to have suffered the most damage. So at that precise moment, she really didn’t care about any consequences of such an action.

“Look,” Yennefer said slowly, tapping her palm against the flat of Tissaia’s chest. “I understand that you are my boss, but honestly I’m more of a top, so if there’s any slapping in the future it’ll be by my hand. Probably on fleshier areas. Okay, sunshine?”

For some reason, Tissaia was smiling at her. It was definitely more of an ‘I’m happy your alive’ smile than being related to any of the words pouring out of her mouth. Yennefer’s brows furrowed and she started pouting, she was pretty certain that Tissaia wasn’t taking her seriously at all. In fact, Tissaia actually looked like she was going to start laughing. That simply would not do. 

Yennefer took bedroom etiquette  _ very seriously _ and she was about to inform Tissaia of such when flashing red and blue started to appear at the periphery of her vision. It pulled her gaze away momentarily but when she glanced back Tissaia was no longer looking at her. The woman’s gaze was locked on the EMTs rushing over to them. 

Right, she wasn’t Tissaia’s problem anymore. She would probably only be too happy to pass her off to the … admittedly more capable of handling medical emergencies professionals. But she was pretty certain that potentially life-threatening injuries gave her an excuse to be petty. So, when the EMTs lifted her off of Tissaia, she didn’t look back. 

Which was fine, because her eyelids were starting to feel heavy again. 

_ Oh so heavy.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'll admit I didn't originally intend to end the chapter there but when I checked the word count and realized it was almost at 5k I figured it was better to put everything else I had planned in a different chapter. 
> 
> Spoiler alert: it turns out Tissaia can really warm up after being put in a life-threatening situation ;)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which our two favourite ladies bake cookies and repress their feelings and it is so utterly domestic and tragic at the same time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Terribly sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up, as a result, you all get a slightly longer one! 
> 
> Enjoy my lovelies!

Tissaia paced the hallway outside of Yennefer’s room. If anybody asked her, she would have confirmed that  _ no, thank you very much for asking, but she was not worried. Not at all. _ She was just stressed about the assassination attempt on her life. She, of course, was not worried about Yennefer waking up. Or rather, her not waking up.

Because Tissaia very much did not care about other people. At least that was what she had been told by most other people in her life ever since Rita left her and after years she supposed that she just internalized it. It was safer that way, be who everybody expected her to be and there would be no issues. She would be left alone, by herself. Which was really how she preferred it. 

Not that anybody would ask her how she was. Her pursed lips and stormy eyes were indication enough that should anybody deign to try and speak with her, she would smite them where they stood. Since Tissaia had money and no qualms about never explaining herself or her actions, she had demanded a private ward for Yennefer, so there were very few doctors or nurses who came down the passage and only one of them was brave enough to meet her eyes. 

But not for long. Whatever it was in her eyes, scared them off down the hall. Shoes clacking uncomfortably loud on the beige linoleum. As Tissaia finally made herself sit in a chair just outside of Yennefer’s room, she wondered why the architects of hospitals always decided to make them so unfathomably depressing. 

She pulled out her phone to check the time. A habit she was beginning to hate, she had a watch, a very expensive one that she kept seeing less and less in favour of a screen. They’d been at the hospital for a couple of hours and really Yennefer should be awake by now. The doctors had assured them that there would be no lasting damage, and she had required only a few stitches for the wound and should be cleared for active duty after a few days. All that was left was for Yennefer to actually wake up.

And Tissaia was most definitely not worried that the girl had yet to wake. In fact, she certainly was not clenching her fists so tightly that were starting to turn white. Her phone vibrated in her hands and her breath caught in her throat at who it could be on the other line. 

But of course it wasn’t Triss, who was just on the other side of the door from her, keeping silent vigil in Yennefer’s room waiting for the girl to wake up. No, if she had had news then she simply would have opened the door. Tissaia glanced at the caller ID. 

Her father. 

She sent the call to voicemail, he was the last person she wanted to hear from at the moment. She still wasn’t entirely convinced that he  _ wasn’t _ behind this, escalating if only to prove the necessity for having her monitored. Or perhaps she was just telling herself that because the idea that someone out there was very very willing to take whatever steps necessary to have her killed was just too difficult to bear at the moment. 

Flashes of Yennefer’s limp body ran through her head like a never-ending marathon. She couldn’t believe that Yennefer had nearly gotten herself killed out of sheer stupidity. Who in all the heavens had trained her to attack head first?

And yet she had done it to protect her from harm, from possible death. The thought of which sent shivers down her spine. Tissaia was used to being given many things in life, the willingness to die for her had never been one of them. So really Tissaia owed it to Yennefer to find out if her father had been behind it after all, it was only fair. 

And should it have been at his hand that they had been put in harm’s way then Tissaia would rain fire down upon him the likes of which he had never seen. For nobody had more secrets to tell than a daughter of the rich and powerful. 

Her phone rang again and she answered it immediately, “Father, we need to talk.” 

“Tissaia, dearest,” the old raspy voice chuckled through the phone. 

Tissaia had changed her mind, her father was the  _ second  _ last person that she wished to speak to. 

“Stregobor,” she said, trying as best as she could to hide the agitation in her voice. “My apologies, I had thought it was my father returning his earlier call.” 

“He has been very worried, you know. As have I. It was deeply troubling to hear of the attempted attack, I was grateful to hear that you made it out unharmed. The board certainly wouldn’t want any harm to come to our dear little Tissaia.” 

And perhaps it was because of the stress of the day, that the assassination attempt had left Yennefer laying in a bed that Tissaia was unsure when she would get up from. But Tissaia was quickly losing her control over her sharp tongue. 

“Stregobor, we have known each other for far too long for you to hide your meanings behind the facade of ‘the board’. Now let me remind you that I am not, nor have I ever been, your dear little Tissaia. You would be wise not to forget that again.” 

She heard his chuckle through the phone again, as though the fire in her words had not left the slightest burn on him. She felt her blood pressure rise and knew she had to end the call before she lost it and damaged their professional relationship beyond compare. And while she didn’t give a rat’s ass what he thought of her, he was by far the most powerful board member and Tissaia wasn’t foolish enough to make an enemy of him. 

“You take offense at nothing,” he responded. “I only meant that as your father’s longest friend, I have seen you grow into the beautiful woman you are today. It should come as no surprise that I would worry after your well-being.” 

Tissaia pinched the bridge of her nose. “Thank you for your concern, but I really must be going,” she said tightly and hung up the phone. 

She felt sick to her stomach, but she shouldn’t be surprised. Stregobor always seemed to catch her at the moments she felt most vulnerable and no matter what show of hostility she put on, she knew that he would hear the quake in her words. The problem was that Stregobor had known her from young and had always found ways to exploit that knowledge. 

But she had more important things to worry about now, and as she checked the hallway to find it empty she leaned forward until her head was almost resting on her knees. Triss had invited her into the room with her, there were two chairs and she’d assured her that while she ran the agency she was not without her own protective skills. 

But Tissaia had declined, she couldn't bear to sit in silence and wait for Yennefer to awaken. Or worse, be forced to make small talk. And right now she found herself barely capable of making sense of her own thoughts, to pretend to be okay in front of a stranger was pushing it after the day she had had. 

The truth was that Tissaia had gotten scared, and that very act was in itself frightening for her because Tissaia de Vries did not get scared. No matter what challenges she faced, she would rise to the occasion. But when Yennefer had unzipped her, and gotten close enough that Tissaia could feel the warmth of her breath on the bare skin of her back ... it had sent goosebumps traveling up her spine. 

And flooded somewhere _ else _ with warmth. And she had felt foolish, because she was not living in some bloody romantic comedy. She would not fall madly in love with her bodyguard and then run off into the sunset. That was the stuff of fiction, and she was living in the real world. She had had her fairytale romance already, it just hadn't ended with the stereotypical happy ever after. 

And that was fine. Really it was. Especially considering how used she had gotten to be alone all of these years, she almost preferred it now. Tissaia just wasn’t cut out for a relationship, she was too married to her work regardless. 

And yet as much as she tried to tell herself that this was nothing besides the  _ wanting _ of a woman who had not wanted in far too long. She was well aware of the other reason she could not bear to be on the other side of that wall. 

She did not know how to cope with a vulnerable Yennefer. 

And while it had only been for a short time she had grown used to thinking of Yennefer, and of Vilgefortz, as indestructible beings. The kind of superheroes one would see in those mainstream pop culture movies that she ever so hated. For a minute she had ceased to live in the real world, where no amount of training would prepare someone for the unpredictability of someone on the hunt. 

And that thinking had nearly cost her today. 

* * *

When Yennefer’s eyes opened again, she was surprised to see a blurry figure sitting in the chair across from her bed. She blinked a couple more times, and the figure became sharper, curls bouncier. Finally, the figure noticed Yennefer’s movement and looked up at her, offering a small smile.

Triss. 

She stood suddenly, moving towards Yennefer until she could rest her hand on top of Yennefer’s own. 

Yennefer offered her a weak smile in return, trying as best as she could to sit up in the bed. Her body protested in response, but not as terribly as that time that she had been shot so she was taking that as a win. 

“Would it kill you to sit still,” Triss fussed, but adjusted the pillows behind Yennefer’s back so that she could rest comfortably against them. 

“I guess your intel was right. You really gotta invest in a raise for your tech guys.”

Triss laughed. “Is that your roundabout way of asking for a raise?”

Yennefer’s puppy dog eyed response was all Triss needed to know: yes, indeed she was. 

Triss shook her head lightly, Yennefer’s antics never ceased to amaze her. “I’ll check the budget and see what can be done. You took a knife for a client today so I do suppose it’s only fair. At the very least, I’ll make sure you get a big bonus when Christmas rolls around.” 

Yennefer beamed at the promise of perhaps finally having the money to go on an actual vacation for once, instead of getting wasted and googling images of tropical paradises and letting the alcohol fool her brain into believing she was there. Unfortunately, the reality of the situation hit all too quickly. 

“Any news on the attacker?” Yennefer asked, dreading the answer. In her line of work things rarely tended to be wrapped up neatly with a cute little ribbon, she doubted that would be the case this time. 

And from the immediate droop of Triss’ shoulders, she knew that she was right. “Vilgefortz managed to track him through several back alleys before finally tackling him and handing him off to law enforcement. I’ve since been told that before he could be questioned about his motives or any potential employers that hired him to carry out their dirty work, he swallowed a poison pill and died in police custody.” 

“Fuck,” Yennefer whispered. 

The look Triss shot her showed that she very much agreed with the sentiment. “I don’t like it at all, Yennefer. Everything about it seems fishy to me. You know I have little faith in law enforcement, so I put my best team on uncovering whatever information they can find on our assailant. But I’ve seen tactics like this used before so I don’t expect they’ll be able to dig up much, if any, background on him.” 

Before Yennefer could respond, Jaskier burst through the door with the speed of a startled baby deer and all but jumped into the hospital bed with her. 

Triss glanced over at him and back to Yennefer, “I may have called him to let him know. Though I also told him that there was little use running down here as you were already at your two visitor limit. It seems that he has picked up your unfortunate habit of not listening to a single word that I say.” 

Before Yennefer could even express her confusion - Triss was the only person she saw so who in the hell could this other mysterious visitor be? - Jaskier exploded. “And I told Madam Triss that Tissaia de Vries is not your best friend, I AM!”

“Ti- Ms. de Vries is here?” Yennefer asked softly. 

And as if the words falling from Yennefer’s mouth had summoned her; Tissaia appeared in the doorway. And Yennefer swore her heart stopped dead in her chest. 

Because Tissaia was here. 

Tissaia was here and she was looking rough. Several pieces of hair had come undone from the slicked back bun of this morning, and Yennefer was pretty sure that she saw what could only be her own blood staining Tissaia’s fingers. 

She wanted to apologize for bleeding all over her, offer her a damp cloth, or whatever the fuck so that she could wipe Yennefer from off her skin. 

Most of all Yennefer desperately wanted to pull herself together and close her mouth, which had been hanging ever so slightly agape with surprise since Tissaia had stepped in the room. She swallowed and immediately turned her focus over to Jaskier. 

Which wasn’t hard because he was beaming at her with the fire of a thousand suns and Yennefer was starting to wonder if he had spent the morning drinking. He went to climb into the bed next to her, upset by her lack of reaction to his presence. Triss pulled him back before he could get a leg up. 

“Yennefer, I am so so so happy that you are not dead! And not only because without you paying half of our rent I would be homeless.”

Yennefer looked at him, one eyebrow raised. “Aren’t you supposed to follow that up with something?”

“You also buy most of the apartment’s alcohol?”

“You’ve been drinking  _ my  _ alcohol?!” Yennefer exclaimed. Oh that little shit was so lucky she was confined to this bed or she’d be halfway to kicking his ass already. Still, her eyes narrowed and she wondered if it would be worth it. 

From the look that Triss shot her the answer was no. Very much no, and if she even tried to get out of bed then Triss would put a stop to it immediately. But before Yennefer could even contemplate going against Triss, the doctor walked in and an involuntary hush fell over the room. 

Yennefer rolled her eyes, she thought she was the one prone to dramatics. It’s not like the doctor was coming in here to tell her that she was dying or anything. At least she didn’t think so …

“Give it to me straight doc, how long do I have?” Yennefer asked, in that kind of voice that very much let this nice doctor know that her words were in jest. 

The doctor laughed despite herself. “I’d give you a lot longer if you stopped running headfirst into dangerous situations.” 

“Ah, well doc, what can I say,” Yennefer said, her eyes flicking briefly to Tissaia who seemed to have shrunk into the corner, odd for a woman who usually demanded all the space that she was worth. “It’s the job.”

“So I’ve been told,” the doctor said, looking up from the chart in her hands to Triss. “But you have little to worry about here. The cut wasn’t deep but I do recommend not returning to active duty for a couple of days. We will be keeping you overnight just to monitor your concussion but once everything is fine, we’ll release you bright and early tomorrow morning.” 

Yennefer groaned. “Bright and early?”

Jaskier cut in, “Do you want me to go and pick up some of your things? Triss offered to help me shuttle your stuff back home.” 

“That won’t be necessary,” Tissaia said, finally stepping forward into the fold. The power in her voice caused Triss and Jaskier to part like the red sea and Tissaia took a place at the foot of Yennefer’s bed. “Yennefer has settled at my house and so it makes little sense to disrupt her life further by moving her from there. And while I do not wish to speak ill of people I do not know, I have several staff members that will be able to tend to Yennefer’s every need better than this … man-child.” 

Jaskier had been nodding along, likely because it meant less work on his part, until the realization dawned. “Wait …” 

But before he could get any more words out, Tissaia cut him off. “The choice is yours.” She met Yennefer’s eyes with such intensity that it made Yennefer’s thighs tremble. 

Everybody looked at her expectantly, Yennefer clenched her thighs together and tried to think about anything but the heat of Tissaia’s gaze on her. She would have liked to make the decision with her head, but the rest of her body had other ideas. 

“Ms. de Vries’ it is then. As long as the man-child can have some visitation rights, I will need someone to keep me company so I don’t lose my mind.” 

“Hey!” Jaskier protested, before realizing he really should have just kept quiet. He shot Tissaia a sheepish look, followed by his most impressive puppy dog eyes. 

Tissaia glanced at him, seemingly unimpressed, and then back at Yennefer. “It’s settled then. I will send a car to pick you up bright and early tomorrow morning.” 

And with that Tissaia strode from the room as if she could not bear the sight of Yennefer any longer. 

Yennefer tried to ignore the pang in her heart as she watched her leave. 

* * *

For the first time in her life Yennefer had actually felt all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when the sun had risen the next morning. Though she was almost certain that had something to do with the fact that she had fallen asleep at 6 pm the previous night. But her head felt clear and the ache at her side had lessened to a minor inconvenience. 

If she made no sudden movement anyhow. 

And true to her word, Tissaia had a car waiting outside for Yennefer after she signed her discharge papers and walked out into the chilly end of September air. Despite steeling herself for the possibility, her heart sank as she climbed into the back and Tissaia was nowhere to be seen. But she shouldn't be surprised, it was a normal day for everyone else so Tissaia would be at work. Yennefer probably hadn’t even crossed her mind for the day. 

But then her phone dinged with an incoming text and after some fumbling Yennefer got it out of her pocket. She didn’t have the number saved, but she would recognize that diction anywhere. 

_ ‘The driver has acknowledged pickup. Please confirm it is you and not some other very confused hospital patient. I would so hate to deal with the legalities of that.’  _

Then, another ding!

_ ‘Triss sent me your number. To make it easier to conduct our professional relationship.’ _

Yennefer rolled her eyes and briefly wondered if she should just send back a text filled with emojis. But at the risk of getting a lecture from Tissaia about how she had to spend hours decoding tiny pixels to get a coherent meaning, she decided otherwise. Something simple would do, something that didn’t quite give away the way her heart had clenched upon reading the words ‘professional relationship’. 

So she texted back the confirmation that Tissaia had asked for and spent the drive to the de Vries manor checking her phone every five minutes for a text message that never came. 

Thankfully, Yennefer didn’t require any serious at-home care. She could move about by herself with only minimal pain, though she was told not to push it and to rest as much as possible. Which she had agreed to only because the doctor had told her that the more she pushed too early, the longer it would take for her to be cleared to go back on active duty. 

Tissaia’s staff assured her that they would be there to take care of her every need for the day, and if she required their help into the night then they would stay on. Yennefer, who felt uncomfortable with even the thought of Jaskier - a close friend - helping her, turned them all down profusely. She did try to convey her gratitude at the offer but it was an emotion she wasn’t entirely familiar with and as such was not much of a fan of it. 

She really hated to feel indebted to others. Tissaia was one thing, Tissaia was getting something - protection - out of their relationship. Her staff was an entirely different thing, they were getting nothing out of their kindness to her. 

So she kept to her room for the rest of the day. Somebody came up to bring her lunch, which she ate in bed, being ever so careful to ensure nothing spilled on Tissaia’s very white sheets. Yennefer was certain they cost more than a month’s worth of her salary. 

But mostly she was left alone and for that she was thankful. Or mostly thankful, the truth was that she was a bit bored. Jaskier couldn’t come and visit her today, apparently he had a very hot date that he was being  _ oh so secretive _ about. Which was never a good sign, Jaskier never stopped talking and when he finally did, it usually meant that he was up to something he shouldn’t be. But she was sure she would be the first to know when it eventually blew up in his face.

Surprisingly, Sabrina had texted her to ask how she was doing and to express her condolences that Yennefer  _ hadn’t _ died, because she really wanted her job full time so she could ‘stare at Tissaia’s backside all day long’. Also, because the money was nice. Yennefer humoured her as much as one could possibly humour Sabrina without risking aggravated assault. 

But she was still grateful for the texts, even if they put some images in her mind that she really couldn’t handle at the moment. The itch her one night stand had dealt with was beginning to come back and Yennefer wasn’t certain if getting herself off counted as the kind of physical activity she was supposed to stay away from. Plus she was certain that her thoughts would only turn to Tissaia and there was something about coming to thoughts of Tissaia’s fingers inside of her, inside of  _ Tissaia’s house  _ that didn’t sit too well with her. 

And yet somehow also made her _ wetter _ than she’d ever been. 

Still, when Yennefer had steered her conversation with Sabrina to non-Tissaia related matters, it had proved a welcome distraction from the predicament that Yennefer was finding herself in. She didn’t know how many more one night stands she would have to have before she realized that there was only one person who could give her what she craved. And she was the one person that Yennefer would never ask. So maybe it was better to just keep lying to herself. 

That way nobody got hurt. 

That way nobody died. 

* * *

By the time Vilgefortz and Tissaia returned, Yennefer was so out of her mind out of things to do that she thought she might just kiss Vilgefortz  for providing her with himself to annoy to her heart’s content. But he had shut himself in his room the moment he got back, clearly having some foresight of the chaos a bored Yennefer would be on the hunt for. 

Though, she also very much wanted to question him about what had happened after he had chased down the attacker. Triss said she had told her everything Vilgefortz had recounted in his statement to her but still … Yennefer was curious if she pulled out some pliers and threatened his toes if he would have anything else to say. 

But she wasn’t in the mood for breaking down doors and beating up coworkers so she busied herself with an early dinner. Her appetite seemingly had taken no hit from the attack and Yennefer was thankful because that meant she could eat her feelings in food she didn’t have to cook. 

And the chefs who provided meals for the household were brilliant … the only problem was that for years they had become used to preparing food for only Tissaia, whose appetite resembled that of a very small bird. Therefore, the portion sizes were small enough to starve Yennefer to death. 

Which was how nearing the hour of midnight, when she really should have been in bed, she found herself creeping down the stairs to raid the kitchen for a midnight snack. Her sock-clad feet quiet on the stairs, she didn’t want to wake anybody up and have to explain to them why she wasn’t following doctor’s orders. 

But she was not expecting to find the kitchen lights on and a sweatpant-wearing Tissaia surrounded by a mess of baking ingredients. Of course, it was Tissaia so they weren’t the kind of sweatpants that Yennefer had had for years with many a pizza sauce stain on them, but still, Yennefer was pleasantly taken by surprise. Perhaps Tissaia was somewhat ‘normal’ after all. 

Tissaia was so caught up with the words on whatever piece of paper she was holding, a recipe Yennefer guessed considering the state of the kitchen, that she didn’t even notice Yennefer’s entrance. The second strange occurrence of the past five minutes, Yennefer had never managed to take Tissaia off guard before. 

“Hi,” Yennefer whispered, the words almost stolen away by the soft breeze sweeping in through the kitchen window. 

Tissaia jumped, her mouth parting ever so slightly in surprise as she realized there was someone else in the room. A deep breath fell from her lips as she realized it was only Yennefer. After the last two days, Yennefer couldn’t blame her for being jumpy. 

Yennefer’s stomach grumbled but she bypassed the pantry to take a seat at the island, just opposite of Tissaia. “I wasn’t aware you were a night owl.” 

“Oh trust me Ms. Vengerburg, I am not,” Tissaia said, setting down the paper with a scowl, though the malice in her eyes was not directed at Yennefer. “It has been a difficult forty-eight hours and I cannot get my mind to quiet.” 

Yennefer wanted to reach across the granite and take Tissaia’s hand in hers, to offer her whatever comfort she could. Her fingers burned with want. She folded her hands in her lap for the time being, before her limbs grew minds of their own and acted on the desires Yennefer would not allow herself. 

“That’s natural,” Yennefer said instead. “And while I may technically always be on the clock when you’re around, we’re in your kitchen at midnight in our jammies and what looks to be a mess of sugar cookie ingredients. I think Yennefer is fine.”

Tissaia smiled despite herself. “Yennefer, it is. Though I’m not going to let you call me Tissaia.” 

Yennefer smiled back. “Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it, Ms. de Vries.” 

Tissaia’s nose scrunched up, Yennefer tried not to notice how cute a gesture it was. “Okay, maybe Ms. de Vries is somewhat out of place in this situation.” 

Yennefer just laughed and met Tissaia’s eyes, thanks to the barstool that Yennefer was sitting on they were at eye level with each other. For a moment Yennefer just stared at the woman before her, the wisps of brown hair falling from her messy bun, the scattered pink flush on her cheek a reminder that the nights were getting colder, the slight laughter lines around her eyes that showed once in her life Tissaia was happy. 

Yennefer didn’t think a person more beautiful had ever walked the earth. She would fight all of the artists, all of the composers, all of the poets that had ever existed to prove her truth. And she wondered if that very truth showed in her eyes for the flush on Tissaia’s cheeks got pinker, a telltale sign someone knew they were being observed. 

But then Tissaia looked away and the moment was broken. Both of them cleared their throats, the awkwardness echoing off the backsplash and Tissaia pulled a packet of chocolate chips out of a nearby cupboard. 

“I meant to correct your earlier statement. It is actually chocolate chip cookies that I’m trying to make - not sugar cookies.”

Yennefer grabbed the recipe from across the island. “The mistake is actually yours. Sugar cookies win over chocolate chip cookies any day.” 

Tissaia’s eyes narrowed playfully before stealing the paper back from her. “Come in my kitchen with such blasphemy again and I swear I’ll have you replaced.” 

Yennefer’s eyes widened, both at the theft and the comment. “You’d be hard-pressed to find somebody who would take a knife for you like I did.” 

Tissaia just shook her head before turning to the fridge to pull out more ingredients. Yennefer was starting to worry that Tissaia had never actually done any baking in her life. “Please, the knife barely grazed you. If you had actually been properly stabbed I would have been more impressed. 

Yennefer’s eyes widened more than should be humanly possible and her mouth fell open, though the upturned corners of her lips betrayed her true emotions. Before she could stammer out a couple of words Tissaia started laughing. Proper squinty-eyed, wide-mouthed laughter. 

But then Tissaia’s eyes softened ever so slightly and she stepped towards Yennefer, the air in the kitchen suddenly a lot warmer than it was five seconds ago. Tissaia reached for Yennefer’s upper arm, her fingers grazing against the soft cotton of her sweatshirt. Yennefer forgot how to swallow. 

“I never properly thanked you for what you did that day,” Tissaia started, her word choice hinting that she had no desire to relive the events in any great detail. “So thank you Yennefer, it is your bravery that allowed me to walk out of that attack unharmed. I will not forget it.” 

And with a gentle squeeze, Tissaia was gone, fluttering back over towards the oven to preheat it. As Yennefer watched her go she realized that Tissaia was doing her a favour by leaving before she could respond so that Yennefer would not have to stammer through a 'you’re welcome' that felt more genuine in her heart than her words. 

Yennefer bit on her lip to ground herself, it was late and emotions always got electrified after the witching hour. But for once she couldn’t bear to hold her guard up, her physical exhaustion was starting to seep into her mind, and soon she feared it would show in her words. 

So she changed the conversation. “Have you ever baked before?”

Tissaia whirled on her as if insulted by the insinuation in Yennefer’s words, but then her shoulders dropped. “Once or twice when I was younger and didn’t have most of my life mapped out via schedules planned to the last second. I assume it must be like riding a bicycle.”

“It is,” Yennefer said, walking over and adjusting the oven down several degrees. “If you want to set the bicycle on fire.”

“Oh,” Tissaia said. “Well thank you for saving us from burning to death in a fire.” 

“It’s nothing so dramatic,” Yennefer chuckled, somewhat enjoying that for once she had more knowledge in a subject than Tissaia. “I’ll help you. Before my stepdad entered the picture my mom used to bake with me a lot.”

“I-” Tissaia started, but then seemed to think differently, shaking her head. “Thank you, but really you don’t have to. I’m sure I can manage to not burn the kitchen down from here on out.” 

Yennefer reached across for the recipe. “You don’t have to thank me, payment in cookies is just fine with me.” 

Tissaia offered her a soft smile and so a deal was struck. 

It was twenty minutes later when Yennefer shoved a set of cookies into the oven before wiping a bead of sweat off of her brow. She was now infinitely thankful that Tissaia had cracked open the window earlier, the cool air was more than welcome on her flushed skin. Who knew that baking with Tissaia could be such an …  _ activity.  _

When she turned back to the woman in question she found her loading the utensils and bowls and other cookware they had used for the prep stage into the dishwasher. She gave Tissaia a thumbs up and went back to sit at the counter. They still had some time to wait before the cookies turned golden. 

Tissaia soon joined her, accompanied by a mischievous glint in her eye that worried Yennefer greatly. 

“Do I have something on my face?” Yennefer asked, unsure what to do under such a scrutinous gaze. Though she realized that she had subjected Tissaia to a similar one earlier, but one certainly could not describe that look as mischievous. 

_ Longing _ perhaps. But not mischievous. 

“No-” Tissaia started, before refocusing her gaze, “Actually yes. A bit of flour on your right cheek.”

“Oh, thanks,” Yennefer said, reaching up to brush it off. Judging from the fact that Tissaia was biting her lip to keep from laughing she would assume that she was utterly unsuccessful. She wiped her cheek again. 

“Almost,” Tissaia said. She reached over and brushed her cheek ever so slightly, but even that featherlight touch was enough to set Yennefer’s skin aflame and make her heart flutter against her ribcage. She looked anywhere but Tissaia’s eyes, afraid that if the other woman should look into them and she would find what Yennefer had been trying so desperately to deny the existence of.

“Anyway,” Yennefer said suddenly. “What were you going to say?

Immediately the mischievous glint returned to Tissaia’s eyes. “I was going to ask if you wanted to see yourself on the front page of the paper.”

Yennefer hung her head in her hands, elbows propped up on the countertop. She sighed and then picked her head up ever so slightly to blink one eye open at Tissaia. “I spent all day avoiding the internet in the hopes of not seeing embarrassing pictures or videos of myself. It’s a miracle Jaskier didn’t send me any.”

A grin slowly spread across Tissaia’s face as she said, “Wait here.” She disappeared from the kitchen and Yennefer heard the soft movements of her feet moving on the hardwood floors. She came back a few moments later brandishing a newspaper. 

“You’re front page news Yennefer,” Tissaia sing-songed. “You can’t hide from that.” 

Yennefer wondered if it would be worth it to smash her head into the granite and risk another concussion if it meant not having to see whatever story they had written on her. Tissaia slid the paper in front of her. 

“Well, it’s really more of a story on me than you if that makes you feel any better. I gave a brief statement and threatened to sue if they leaked your name, so you  _ can _ enjoy some anonymity.” 

Yennefer reached for the paper, to bring it closer but there was no need. A massive photo of her unconscious in Tissaia’s lap took up most of the page, leaving little else to draw the eye. Her only saving grace seemed to be that Tissaia had cupped her face with one of her hands to angle it into her chest, so the photograph would not capture much of her face.

Oh, how Yennefer wished she had been awake for  _ that _ .

But somehow the most striking thing about the photo was how Tissaia stared down the camera, daring them to get closer. A coiled viper ready to strike to protect itself … and the people it cared about.

Yennefer wasn’t certain when she had become that person to Tissaia. And from the way that Tissaia was avoiding her gaze, it seemed that she didn’t know either. But that was fine. There were times when honesty was more dangerous than any lie could ever be.

And right now honesty carried the weight of a speeding bullet and Yennefer had no desire to add any more wounds to her growing collection. 

“You have no idea how many calls I’ve had to fend off today,” Tissaia said. “In fact, it’s possible I may need to end up finding a new assistant. I’ll be very upset if every network in the country calling me incessantly to get an interview with you costs me my wonderful aide.” 

Yennefer groaned into her hands. “Triss has been fending off calls too. Even if I had no respect for my privacy, I wouldn’t do it. The less the population knows about me the better, especially should that knowledge end up compromising my client’s safety.”

There was a pause, as Yennefer considered her next words. “Not that there is anybody left that I care about that could be used as blackmail.”

Tissaia did not respond. And how could she, for was she not in the exact same position? It always so happened that that which made life easy in one way made it harder in another. And at that moment, for all of their differences, Yennefer knew that their hearts beat the same. 

Which meant it was once again time for a conversation change, because the words ‘ _ though I think I’m starting to care about you _ ’ were on the tip of her tongue and she would cut it off before allowing the words to be heard. 

“Please tell me there is some other front page news that will eclipse your assassination attempt so I can venture back on twitter to look at memes without worrying about seeing pictures of my face everywhere.” 

“Well, actually,” Tissaia started. “I have it on good authority that Queen Cirilla will be announcing an engagement tomorrow. I’m sure the press, respectable and otherwise, will soon forget all about you and the assassination attempt.” 

Yennefer felt a pit of dread settle at the bottom of her stomach, her heart now threatening to beat out of her chest for very different reasons than before. So loud she could hear the rattle of her ribcage pounding in her ears. 

Tissaia, ever the observant one, did not miss the way that Yennefer’s face had fallen at the news. “I know. I too was surprised that she would be getting engaged at such a young age, but from what I’ve been told the Cintran Monarchy does still rule so I can only imagine how hard it must have been for the poor girl to have been thrust into power much before her time. It is no easy task to lead alone.” 

Yennefer was saved from having to respond by the oven timer going off. Their cookies were done. Yennefer jumped out of her seat immediately, anything to give her time to school her features back into nonchalance, and rushed over to the oven. After some fumbling for an oven mitt and still somehow managing to accidentally burn her inner wrist on the baking tray, she set the cookies down on the counter with a flourish. 

“All done,” Yennefer said, hoping the smile on her face looked less forced than it was. Or was mistaken for exhaustion. It was rather late after all, and she was still recovering from injuries. 

Tissaia held out one of the cookies to her, for a toast. “Cheers.” 

Yennefer knocked the cookie with her own one. “Cheers,” she whispered back, wondering just exactly how many of these she would have to consume before they would ease the tension coiling in her stomach. 

But she already knew. Not even chocolate chip cookies could fix the biggest mistake of Yennefer’s life. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the truth comes out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The moment is finally here! Yennefer's greatest mistake finally revealed. 
> 
> I would like to note a couple of trigger warnings specifically for the flashback scene: guns, physical violence (I'm putting this here to be safe, there's nothing overly graphic), death. If there's anything else you think needs to be noted please do let me know so that I can add it here. 
> 
> Also, I highly recommend listening to some sad instrumental for the flashback scene. Personally, I wrote it to 'The Last Agni Kai' but as always you do you. Happy reading lovelies <3

The thing about the truth was that it had a tendency of coming out. Nothing stayed buried. Not for long anyway. Especially when Sabrina Glessivig was involved. The blonde was handy with her fists and she never shied away from beating the everloving fuck out people, even if it meant prying honesty from their cold dead hands. For a woman who loved to surround herself in mystery, Yennefer was far from understanding her refusal to allow others the same courtesy. 

Which was why Yennefer awoke that Sunday morning with a start, breath coming in sharp uneven pants, her hand clutched to her pounding heart. The dream had come back. Or was it better to call it a memory? She fervently checked her wrists to see if the imprints of plastic zip ties had bled into reality, but they were unmarred. She ran her fingers over the skin, checking to see if her eyes were lying to her.

But she couldn’t feel a thing. The pain was phantom, a ghost of the past. 

But she knew what was real. She hooked her fingers into her underwear and edged them down ever so slightly. The scars stared back at her, two flesh-coloured imperfect circles that almost blended into the skin. She’d - admittedly - only had one lover since receiving them and he had never stopped to ask questions. But she had turned the lamp off as soon as he had switched it on. 

The cover of inky black night was comforting, a crutch Yennefer didn’t want to admit that she needed. But talking about the worst night of her life when someone was three fingers deep wasn’t exactly an attractive alternative. 

Her finger reached out to brush against one of the scars, her touch featherlight but she still felt the echoes of a pain she wanted nothing more to forget. The bite of a bullet as it made a home underneath her flesh, the realization that it was all for naught.

She had taken the bullets for a woman who was already dead before they both hit the floor. She remembered the way lifeless brown stared back at her as she bled out on the carpet. The scream of a blonde-haired princess that sounded vaguely like ‘ _you promised!’_ but it got lost amidst the endless chaos of ringing and gunfire that clogged Yennefer’s ears. 

She had promised to keep her safe. 

And she had failed spectacularly. 

Yennefer pulled herself from the memory, there was little point reliving it now when she was certain she would have to go through every excruciatingly finite detail of that night once Sabrina arrived. And judging from the time that flashed on her phone, she had precious minutes before chaos arrived at the front door.

And staying in bed much longer wasn’t going to stop it from happening, even if Yennefer did try to excuse herself, locking herself in this room to rest before she officially went back to active duty tomorrow, she knew Sabrina would just find a way to break the door down. Or the window, should she be feeling fancy. 

So to save Tissaia from property damage and Sabrina from an extravagant bill - smashing clients windows when not under duress was _not_ included in company insurance after all - she made herself leave the safe comfort of what she was beginning to think of as _her_ bed and go get ready for what she only assumed would be an absolute shitshow of a day. 

But a text on her phone stopped her before she could reach the bathroom. It was from Triss. 

_‘Good Morning, Yennefer. Just reaching out to let you know to expect Sabrina later than expected today, she’s touched in to let me know she’s sitting in bumper to bumper traffic. The incoming storm has roads in a state. No cause for alarm, but I thought you would appreciate the heads up.’_

The sigh of relief was immediate. She had some time to figure out what exactly she was going to say to Sabrina. Of course, Yennefer had already had an entire week to do so and still had yet to come up with a satisfactory answer, but she was sure she could find one in an hour. 

It was only as the first raindrop hit the roof that Yennefer caught on to the other part of Triss’ message. A storm was coming. She was momentarily taken by surprise, before remembering that she hadn’t been on social media or watched the news in days. Tissaia had been right, Cirilla’s engagement had completely taken over the media. Yennefer had seen one photo of her and the smiling fiance before throwing her phone across the room. 

The news outlets gushed over the couple, talking about how happy the two of them looked. Yet, all Yennefer could see when she pored over the pictures was the haunted look in Cirilla’s eyes, that she had somehow managed to age ten years in one. But that was what grief did to a person, it stole whatever life was still left in them. 

Yennefer paused by the balcony looking over the back gardens, the sky was set in shades of grey. The clouds covered every spare inch of the sky, dimming the brilliance of the autumn leaves. Their faces turned down the forest floor beneath awaiting the next stage of their life cycle. 

Death. 

Yennefer let out a breath as she stepped into the bathroom, fingers searching out the lock on the door. It was fitting, she supposed, a bleak landscape for a day she had been dreading. It almost made it easier. After all, the truth was such a bitter thing under the harsh light of day. 

She stripped until she was bare and stepped in the shower, the tile cold against her feet. Yennefer turned the water as hot as it could go and wondered if it was possible to burn her sins off her skin so she might start anew. But life was not made to be so easy and her back traced a wavering line against the wall until she crumpled on the floor in a heap of tangled limbs. 

The water beat down on her face with such ferocity it forced her eyes closed. But it was better that way, it allowed her to pretend the water racing down her cheeks was just that. Water, no tears mixed in. 

* * *

Sabrina arrived two hours later, just enough time for Yennefer to pull herself together and look like she hadn’t started the morning by falling apart in the shower. As expected, Sabrina brought the storm with her, whipping winds threatened to shake the strong foundation of the house as trees creaked uneasily outside. 

Even with the aid of an umbrella, Sabrina opened the front door soaked to the bone. But her shivering state was not enough to dull the glint in her eyes as she saw Yennefer from across the foyer. Yennefer paused and then offered a smile, trying to look like anything besides a deer in headlights. 

Before Sabrina could barrel into Yennefer, Tissaia appeared suddenly in the passage and Sabrina stopped momentarily, dripping umbrella still clutched in her hand. 

Tissaia looked Sabrina up and down, her brow raising ever so slightly. “Please do try not to drip all over my house. That would be highly undesirable.” And then she disappeared up the stairs, likely to head to the study to get a headstart on the work week ahead. Yennefer watched her go, lips pursed ever so slightly. Tissaia had been up late the previous night working as well, Yennefer only heard her bedroom door shut close to 2 am. 

Yennefer wondered if it would be highly inappropriate to tell Tissaia that she ought to give herself some time off. She was overworking herself, Yennefer could only assume as last night wasn’t the only night that Tissaia had locked herself away in her study. It was becoming a worrying pattern. The bags under her eyes grew darker by the day and - if possible - she grew snappier at everyone who spoke to her. Even the bloody interns had taken to sending their messages to Tissaia through Yennefer so that they wouldn’t be the ones facing a chewing out. 

And the phrase ‘don’t shoot the messenger!’ proved to be foreign to Tissaia. 

Loathe as she was to admit it for its dangerous implications, Yennefer knew Tissaia was one of the most beautiful women she had ever had the privilege of laying eyes on. But right now she looked terrible, and Yennefer was one snappy comment away from forcing some melatonin tablets down the woman’s throat. 

Yennefer was pulled from her thoughts by a snicker and she glared at the offending culprit. Sabrina had rested the umbrella at the door, a puddle already pooling on the tile. But it appeared that Sabrina had not missed the way Yennefer’s gaze had lingered just a second too long.

Shit. 

“We need to talk, Yenna,” Sabrina whispered. Her tone was serious and Yennefer knew that the time had come. The floodgates would be opened and Yennefer could not promise she would be able to shut them again. 

But Sabrina would spare her the Tissaia conversation - for now. And for that Yennefer tried to be grateful. But it was difficult when Sabrina was asking for a piece of her that she had locked away in her heart in the hopes it would never be seen again; even if keeping it clutched there turned her arteries black and poisoned her blood with regret. 

“Then let’s talk.”

And maybe if this had been years ago, Yennefer would have offered her arm to Sabrina and they have walked arm in arm to find a quiet spot to swap secrets. When they had been nothing more than trainees who had yet to witness a life where their actions could hold serious consequences not just for them but for others - for innocents. Life hadn’t been simple, not by a long shot, but it was as close to simple as they ever would have had.

Of course, they hadn’t appreciated that at the time. But they were practically still children, walking around in shoes that didn’t fit. Playing at adulthood. 

But playtime had ended a long time ago. 

Yennefer walked to her room, Sabrina trailing ever so slightly behind, leaving raindrops in her wake. Yennefer idly entertained the image of Vilgefortz slipping on one, but they would be long dry before he left his room. Everybody seemed to be keeping to themselves today. Perhaps it was because the electricity swimming in the air outside carried with it the volatile currents of unspoken feelings. 

Yennefer made a note to stay away from Tissaia for the rest of the day, lest it strike her and jumpstart her heart before she got control over her tongue. There would be only one spilled secret today. 

And so Yennefer opened the door to her room and watched as Sabrina’s eyes immediately went to the dresser in the room; goosebumps raised on her shivering skin. Sabrina made a start towards it but Yennefer held out her hand. 

“I’ll get you something warm.” 

“Worried I might find a vibrator in there?” Sabrina snarked, but looked grateful regardless. 

Yennefer just shook her head slightly, thinking of the photo of her and Tissaia buried underneath her clothes; she was hiding something much more dangerous. But she quickly found clothes for Sabrina, they wouldn’t fit her perfectly but they would make do while the blonde’s clothes dried themselves out.

Sabrina, never one who cared much for modesty, stripped on the spot. Yennefer would have looked away but it was nothing she hadn’t seen hundreds of times before. Sabrina didn’t bother putting on a show and after a minute she was fully dressed again, sleeves pushed up to her elbows, jeans cuffed several times over. 

There were two chairs in the corner of the room and Sabrina sat down on one, crossing her legs in the chair, eyes intently fixed on Yennefer. She beckoned with her gaze and Yennefer sat on the chair opposite, her hands clutching the armrests for something to ground the pounding of her heart. 

“Would you like to start this or should I?” Yennefer asked, suddenly desperate to have the whole conversation over and done with. 

Sabrina studied her for a moment. “Why didn’t you return any of my calls or texts?”

“I didn’t know what to say to you.” 

Sabrina sighed, shaking her head. “You have to give me more than that, Yennefer. Give me something to work with.” 

Her eyes held the ‘ _please_ ’ that her lips would not allow her. 

Yennefer ground her nails into the plush fabric of the cushion. “What could I have said to make up for what I had done? For what I allowed to happen? There were no words that would heal that hurt of my actions. No words that would absolve me.”

“Did you think it would matter to me, Yenna?” Sabrina bit back, refusing to give her even an inch. “You made a mistake, it happens.”

Yennefer’s mouth fell open ever so slightly, the blood thrummed through her veins with reckless abandon and the ringing in her ears blocked out everything else; the way it always did when her anxiety was heightened. “A mistake,” she said, mouth forming the words ever so slowly as though the words had never passed her lips before. “A woman died because of me, and you think that was a _mistake?_ ”

Sabrina sat forward in her chair, gaze fixed on Yennefer, her eyes unblinking in their intensity. “You’re acting like you pulled the trigger.”

“I might as well have,” Yennefer laughed, the sound a bitter thing that didn’t sit quite right in the air. 

Sabrina just stared at her, but no pity clouded her pupils. A flash lit the darkening room and Yennefer went to turn the lights on; letting Sabrina sit with her words. She tried not to jump when the clap of thunder tore the sky apart moments later, her posture stiff with the effort.

By the time she had sat back down, Sabrina was still looking at her, watching, waiting. For what Yennefer couldn’t tell and yet somehow already knew. 

“You weren’t there,” she said. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Then help me understand,” Sabrina said, no emotion overshadowing her words. They were simple, to the point. And Yennefer understood that by refusing to give into her own emotions, Sabrina was allowing her to do the very such thing. 

And so Yennefer opened her mouth, dropped the walls that she had spent forever building, and let the truth of what happened that night spill forth. 

* * *

_That night had been a bitterly cold one and Yennefer had shivered despite the warm air being pumped through the museum vents. But it likely had something to do with being stationed at the door furthest away from said vents. She crossed her arms to her chest, trying to preserve body heat. No doubt Triss was mighty pleased with herself, this must have been Yennefer’s punishment for her outburst in the office a few days earlier._

_That she still wasn’t sorry about. Triss' agency had been contacted to provide additional security at an event for visiting Cintran nobility and Yennefer had lost it when Triss assigned her to the job. She knew she had taken some form of an oath when she joined Triss’ agency, an oath to protect someone until the end. And she also knew that the only people who could afford or were likely to even require their services were the obscenely wealthy. But that didn’t make keeping their sorry rich asses out of danger an easy pill to swallow._

_Yennefer blamed her childhood, for it was an easy thing to blame, wasn’t it? Her teenage self couldn’t just show up and fight back against whatever truth Yennefer assigned to her. She blamed her lack of friends, her lack of any sense of familial support that had led to her finding the comfort tucked in between the dusty pages of dog-eared library books._

_They had given her a bit of a hero-complex. Or a bit of a Robin Hood complex. In her mind they were pretty much the same. Protect and save those who needed it the most. And then she grew up and realized the real world didn’t work like that._

_Before Triss had recruited her she had been naive, had thought she might actually be able to do something which might better the world. She had once thought about going into policy and law-making or finding ways to protect those the corrupt laws of her great nation wouldn't. She had the brains for it, but no money to pursue an education in those fields._

_And then Triss had picked her up and filled her with pretty lies of keeping people safe, about making enough money to go out and fulfill those dreams of hers. Yennefer didn’t believe them anymore, even if Triss still did._

_Yennefer would bleed the hero-complex out from her veins if she could. If she could just stop caring, but even pretending didn’t work. It just made her so angry._

_She was so angry._

_It felt as though chaotic violence swirled in her bloodstream just looking for a way out. It pooled in her hands, begging to be let out in a well time punch against a nameless face who had done her wrong. It bottled up in her throat, waiting to be released in a scream that would reverberate through the earth._

_It wasn’t just at Triss. Yennefer knew she didn’t deserve her anger. It wasn’t at Calanthe, though her protests earlier had suggested otherwise. It was at the life she had been given, a life that didn’t deserve her but kept her clutched in its ugly grip anyway._

_It was that she thought she had finally found a shot of happiness. Someone that might love her back. All of the whispered words in the office and the meetups in supply closets for stolen kisses just to hide from Triss’ no fraternizing policy._

_She had actually thought Istredd might propose._

_And then she had walked in on him in their bed with another woman. His love bites on every part of her skin, nothing left unblemished. He staked his claim on her and Yennefer was to be left in the dust._

_He had called, texted, shown up at Jaskier’s place begging to be forgiven. Yennefer never responded. Her heart had been broken too many times and once her trust was gone, it was gone forever. Istredd would never have it again._

_“Yennefer!” an all too familiar voice sounded from across the long hallway._

_And now Istredd had shown up here, even though he wasn’t supposed to even set foot in the museum. Once Triss had caught wind of their romance, and its horrible heart-wrenching end, she had declared that they were never to be put on the same assignment again._

_And yet here he was, rushing over to her with a look of desperation in his eyes that Yennefer had never seen before. She idly considered reaching for the gun at her waist and pointing it at his chest. It would have been the only thing that would have slowed his steps. But one glance up at the security camera trained on her, and the door, put any such thoughts to bed._

_“Leave,” she said as he approached, not even bothering to look at him. Scum like him wasn’t worthy of her attention._

_“Yennefer, please,” he said, his words harried. His breath came in sharp pants. That should have been her first sign that something was seriously wrong._

_But the shock of suddenly seeing him in person again, having him be so close that she could reach out and touch him … it was too much for her brain. Too unexpected._

_But still, Yennefer fought against the urge to look at him, to let him lull her into a dream with his fabricated falsehoods. “I’m not going to ask you again. Leave. Now. Or I will drag you out myself.”Her nostrils flared ever so slightly, letting him know she was serious._

_“Don’t you want to know why?”_

_And everything around Yennefer went still as though the air was holding its breath; knowing those were the magic words. Because that one little three-letter word had ripped apart her memories in its quest for answers. She ground her teeth together and finally turned to meet his eyes._

_“Why now? I’m in the middle of a job, Is.”_

_He reached out a finger to touch her but thought better of it. “I got a new assignment from Triss. I’m leaving the country in a couple hours. It is now or never, Yennefer.”_

_“You have five minutes.”_

_Istredd leaned in until his breath was close enough to tickle the skin of her ear. “Not here, someone might see.” His gaze drifted upwards to the camera pointed at them._

_Yennefer sighed, but she had already given in so she let him take her away from her post. Out of the range of the security camera. She shouldn’t have been surprised when he whirled around a few moments later, gun in his hand, and swung the butt of it against her temple. Hard._

_And she crumpled to the floor like she was nothing more than a child’s forgotten ragdoll. A dusty old plaything that no one had use for anymore._

_Yennefer didn’t know how long had passed until she opened her eyes; her vision swimming in a sky of stars. She had been stuffed in a supply closet, the only light sneaking in from the crack at the bottom of the door. There were zip ties tight around her wrist, digging into the skin. Her legs had been left free, Istredd had indeed been in a hurry._

_Either way, he had made a mistake. With a grunt she surged to her feet, stumbling slightly into the wall. She spared only a moment to catch her breath and then with all the force she could summon raised her hands high above her head and brought them crashing down onto her hip bone._

_Amateur’s play._

_They had been taught how to get out of much stickier situations than that. Istredd should have known that, so why was he making it easy for her? Her hands fumbled for the doorknob, eyes not yet adjusted to the low light of the room. It turned easily, unlocked._

_As Yennefer pushed the door open she tried to ignore the dread beginning to grow, a nasty thing winding and unwinding in the pit of her stomach. Surely this was just Istredd’s unbelievably stupid idea of a prank? A way to get back at her for ignoring all his attempts to get in contact with her._

_That’s when she heard a gunshot, a cacophony of screams._

_Queen Calanthe._

_She took off running down the hallway, the fluorescents above flickering occasionally. She had no idea where she was, only bits and pieces of the map she was supposed to have studied were coming back to her. The pounding in her head blurring the edges of her memory._

_Another gunshot, another set of screams. Yennefer skidded on the tile as she suddenly changed direction to match the location of the sound. She ignored the screaming of the muscles in her legs as she rounded another corner, every second counted and she would not waste a single one._

_She was also aware that she had no plan. She slowed as she approached the doors to the large auditorium, where the queen and several other notable others were presumably now afraid for their lives. For all she knew Calanthe could be dead already, but if she wasn’t … then Yennefer had a job to do._

_She quickly rifled through her pockets but it was no avail. Her phone was gone, her gun was gone. A suicide mission then._

_Well, she had always joked she would go out in a blaze of glory._

_Her fingers grasped at the door handle, her whole body tensed and ready to spring. She eased it down ever so slightly, ensuring it wouldn’t make a noise and alert anyone to her presence. Her heart thudded as she waited, knowing the gamble she was taking could backfire. Another gunshot sounded and she eased the door open, just enough for her to crawl through._

_She dropped to the ground and made her way inside the large space, immediately seeking out the cover of the back row of chairs. Ignoring the shaking of her fingers, she peeked her head around the corner of the seat._

_The gunmen had isolated the Cintran royalty at the front of the room on the side closest to Yennefer. She spotted Calanthe at the front of the pack, the look in her eyes was bored, but it was a practiced boredom that Yennefer recognized all too well. And she knew the Queen was scared shitless and likely only putting on the facade for the crying princess she had clutched in her grasp. Her fingers stained with the blood of the fallen around her, idly running through Cirilla’s hair._

_Yennefer wondered how Calanthe had it in her to offer comfort, to offer strength at a time like this. To stare down the people who would gladly put a bullet in her as though they were just a minor inconvenience. Calanthe ducked her head to whisper something in the princess’ ear and Yennefer swore she could hear a sob escape the girl as Calanthe disentangled their limbs and pushed the princess behind her._

_The message was clear. She would not allow them to have Cirilla, she would not let them take her Cintran Rose from her, even if it cost her everything. And Yennefer realized at that moment that she finally understood what love was. She saw it in the way the muscles in Calanthe’s arms clenched to hold Cirilla back as the princess tried desperately to wrap herself around her grandmother._

_She heard it in Cirilla’s wails, how she pleaded with the guns pointed at her. Here was a girl who had already lost so much in so little time, she could not bear to lose another. Yennefer’s heart clenched, the girl in front of her had had the love that Yennefer had always dreamed of but knew she would never receive. She would not allow Cirilla to lose it._

_Yennefer quickly scanned the rest of the auditorium, most of Calanthe’s personal security team lay dead at her feet, a thick smell of rust coating the air. The other guests to the event had been herded to the other side of the auditorium, guns trained on them. Yennefer counted several scared faces but no casualties. Several of her own agency were among the faces and she was glad to see them unharmed._

_One of them caught her eye, a senior agent that Yennefer had looked up to since she had joined. The agent gave her a signal, three taps on her left wrist, nonchalant enough that nobody monitoring her would know what she was trying to communicate. But Yennefer recognized it immediately._

_Backup was on the way._

_But they didn’t have time for backup, the gunman already had his gun pointed at Calanthe, his finger skating the edge of the trigger. If Yennefer didn’t act now then the Queen would die. And she was the only one that could stop it._

_She inched her way towards the clustered group, taking great care to ensure her presence went unnoticed. As she got closer she watched the tears stream down Cirilla’s cheeks, they would never stop. She watched Calanthe’s lips as they formed one last ‘i love you’, her fate accepted._

_Calanthe stared ahead, her chest puffing out ever so slightly with an intake of breath. Her chin tilted slightly upwards. Yennefer knew she would not give them the satisfaction of crying, of begging. She would face her death as Queens were want to do, with steel in their eyes, with all the poise of their station._

_The gunman put his finger on the trigger and Yennefer dove._

_Screams sounded around the room and stars burst behind her eyes as she hit the ground, her fingers searching out the source of her pain and coming away wet. She bit her lip as the pain surged through her. But she had learned from a queen. They would not see her cry._

_Yennefer turned her head to the right and was met with lifeless brown eyes staring back at her. Yennefer had misjudged. And Calanthe had paid the price._

_She watched as the Cirilla dropped to the ground, her screams loud enough to pierce a hole in the veil of reality. Cirilla pulled Calanthe into her lap - no easy feat - as her screams got louder and louder, but no matter how much she screamed it would not convey the depths of her pain._

_Yennefer watched her cup Calanthe’s cheek, leaving a bloodstained handprint in her wake. Yennefer watched as the Cintran Rose withered and crumbled and turned to dust before her very eyes._

_This loss an insurmountable one._

_Then the pain stole her consciousness. And she knew it was a mercy._

* * *

“Do you understand now,” Yennefer whispered against the growing storm. “Why I blame myself for her death. They got in through the door that I was supposed to be watching, Sabrina.” 

“Because Istredd pulled you away.” Sabrina could not hide the emotion in her voice now.

Yennefer shook her head. “Because I let him pull me away. Because I let my emotions interfere with the job.” 

Sabrina sighed, “Look, Triss said we had to let you come to this realization yourself and that it would be an important milestone to moving on but-”

The lights flickered off, bathing the room in darkness. The power had gone out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can we get an f in the comments for Calanthe? I knew ( and hinted ;) ) from the first chapter she would meet this end but actually writing it proved a lot more heartbreaking than I thought. 
> 
> I'll admit, this chapter was actually longer but I couldn't resist the cliffhanger. So, see you all soon!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the power goes out Yen, Sabrina and Vilgerotz must devise a plan to get through the night without anyone coming to harm. For Yennefer this means getting more up close and personal with Tissaia than she ever has before. And as it turns out, it's much harder to deny your feelings under the soft glow of firelight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! It sure has been a while, uhh nearly two months but I'm here now! University has just been crazy this semester so it took me so so much longer to write this than I thought it would. The rest of the fic is planned, so I do promise that I'm not abandoning it, it might just take longer for updates. 
> 
> Okay now that all that housekeeping is out of the way, please do enjoy this chapter! Kudos and comments make a stressed out author a happy one! <3

Sabrina sprung up from the chair, the words on her lips temporarily forgotten. There were more important things at hand than perhaps lessening some of her friend’s trauma; the prospect of finally getting to punch a bad guy right in the nose! 

Yennefer watched her from her still seated position on the chair, her eyes struggling to make out the expression on Sabrina’s face against the dark of the storm raging outside the window. But it was for naught, she knew the girl well enough to know that she was terribly excited for this unexpected event. And for all the wrong reasons. 

“Someone has totally sabotaged the power to come and assassinate Tissaia!” Sabrina all but squealed. 

Yennefer rolled her eyes, well aware that Sabrina couldn’t actually see. Still, the action felt good in itself. She reached for her phone which she had set on the nearby table before they had begun their conversation. After fiddling for a bit, and squinting at the sudden brightness as the screen lit up the dark room, she switched on the flashlight. 

“ ‘Brina, you do see the storm raging outside, right? It’s likely just that. Also, you do realize that assassins are not something to be excited about?”

Sabrina sighed. “You’re a buzzkill.”

Yennefer was absolutely  _ not _ a buzzkill. She just had this thing called common sense and she resisted the urge to tell Sabrina she ought to try and find some. Her eyes flicked over to the window as lightning illuminated the gardens outside. She couldn’t deny that an uneasy feeling was starting to settle in her stomach despite her assertions that everything was fine.

Yennefer finally got up from her chair, though with much less haste than Sabrina, and walked over to the door, beckoning Sabrina to follow. “I suppose we still can’t be too safe.”

The glee returned to Sabrina’s face immediately and she followed after Yennefer like the golden retriever puppy Yennefer had always told her she was.

“So you do think it’s assassins!”

“Shh,” Yennefer hissed at Sabrina as they stepped out of the room, which proved a wise decision as the light from her phone’s flashlight caught on the figure of Tissaia just outside of her bedroom door. Tissaia raised her hand to block the light from hitting her square in the eyes. 

“Sorry ma’am,” Yennefer said, shifting the angle so that the light bounced off the top of the ceiling, illuminating the stretch of hallway before them. 

Within a few seconds they reached Tissaia and Yennefer had to resist the urge to reach out a comforting hand. The bags under her eyes only looked worse under the harsh fluorescent of the flash and she was chewing at her lip. A nervous tic Yennefer thought the woman was incapable of possessing. 

“Is everything alright?” Yennefer asked, her voice soft. And yet every word felt so much louder in the closing dark, the world narrowed to just them … and Sabrina. 

Tissaia raised a solitary eyebrow in disbelief. “First the power goes out in a massive storm and the generator doesn’t even kick in, and then my own bodyguard tries to blind me as I stumble through the darkness of my own home. Yes, Ms. Vengerburg, everything is absolutely perfect.” 

A snicker burst from Sabrina’s lips and Yennefer thought about elbowing her in the side. Later, when they weren’t in front of their boss who was already in a foul mood. 

“Fair point.” A pause. “Did you say generator? Why hasn’t that kicked in?”

A sigh escaped Tissaia’s mouth and she looked a few seconds away from wringing Yennefer’s neck. She settled for pinching the bridge of her nose. “Do I look like a mechanic to you? How should I know?”

This time Sabrina managed to contain her laugh, though Yennefer certainly still hadn’t forgiven her for the first one. She also wasn’t complaining, the snappiness was only one symptom of Tissaia’s worsening moods and she didn’t want Sabrina’s antics to further them. 

How she had gone from greatly disliking the woman to not wanting to see her unhappy in such a few short weeks was … well frankly it left her in disbelief. Yennefer considered herself a relatively decent judge of character, but it was rare that she was ever wrong about a person. 

Istredd’s face flashed through her thoughts suddenly. Perhaps her misjudgment was not so rare after all, or maybe Istredd was just the outlier that shouldn’t be counted. Still, she hated the thought of grouping Tissaia with him, it made bile rise in the back of her throat and she worried she would choke on the taste. She hoped that was all they had in common, she could not endure a heartbreak like that again. 

She feared she would not be able to survive it.

But then Tissaia cleared her throat and looked at her insistently and all thoughts of heartbreak were wiped from Yennefer’s mind, as she tried not to think too much about why they were even there in the first place. 

Yennefer wondered how much longer she could keep lying to herself about the facade she had built around her heart. She hoped it could be forever. 

Yet she wished otherwise. 

“Well,” Tissaia started, “the generator is located in a building on the back lawn, it should not be hard to miss.”

And with a pointed look towards the stairs, Yennefer and Sabrina took that as their dismissal, running down the stairs like two chastised schoolgirls. “Does she think we’re mechanics,” Sabrina hissed under her breath. “Or would it be electricians? The fact that I don’t even know should be the biggest sign that I shouldn’t be dealing with this.”

“Look, let’s just have a look at it, try and see if there are any obvious signs of foul play, and then be on our guards for the rest of the night,” Yennefer whispered back as they looped around to the hallway that would take them towards the back gardens. “We certainly can’t fix it ourselves, and I doubt anybody would be driving out during this weather to fix it for us.” 

Another flash of lightning illuminated the sky as they approached the sliding glass door, outside just beyond. Yennefer undid the lock and slid the door to the side, immediately getting hit with a gust of wind and rain. 

Yennefer wiped the wet from her brow and stared out at the rain as it came down, it looked as though the gods were tossing buckets of their bathwater onto the Earth below. And while the building housing the generator was not far, to make it there they would end up soaked to the bone. And neither of them had the foresight to find an umbrella. 

Sometimes Yennefer wondered how either of them had made it this far in their careers. In life, even.

“Stay back.”

“What?” Sabrina asked though it was more of a reflex; judging from the look on her face she had no desire to brave the storm. 

“There’s no need for both of us to get soaked,” Yennefer said, her teeth already starting to chatter slightly. “Also, it’ll allow you to guard the back door and sound the alarm if I don’t come back in a couple of minutes.” 

Much like Yennefer had expected, the tacked-on statement made Sabrina beam. The combination of not getting wet and being useful was a powerful motivator. In fact, she was certain that if Sabrina had a tail she would be wagging it. 

A clap of thunder tore open the clouds and Yennefer stepped out into the storm, her shoes sinking into the mud almost immediately. She already knew that there would be no salvaging them, but that was fine, she never cared overly for material things. And then she took off running to the building that Tissaia had pointed out, not bothering to make an effort to cover herself from the torrential downpour. 

Thankfully the looming structure wasn’t too difficult to find and she made it within a few minutes, just thankful that she hadn’t slipped on the way over. She took a moment’s rest, hand pressed against the wall to ground her, her breathing uneven. That telltale ache at her side was a reminder that she wasn’t fully healed yet. But she ground her teeth against the pain and yanked the door open, hoping that Sabrina was wrong and there were no assassins lying in wait. 

She didn’t know if she would be in any condition to properly fight them off. 

The inside of the building was dark and Yennefer unthinkingly ran her hand along the wall in hopes of finding a lightswitch. When she realized her error and pulled her hand away it came back covered in dust. Yennefer resisted the urge to sneeze as the particles found their way to her nose. She refused to be defeated by dust of all things. 

She walked toward the structure in the corner, it was far larger than she expected but she supposed that Tissaia’s house was large enough to warrant the monstrosity. It was only as she got closer that she noticed the silhouette of a person standing right next to the generator, an object that she couldn’t make out in their right hand. Yennefer stopped dead in her tracks and reached for a weapon before realizing she had none. She cursed under her breath as the figure turned in her direction. Her eyes darted around the room but anything that she could have hidden behind was too far away, if she moved to it she would give up her location. She curled her fingers into a tight fist. 

Then, lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the figure in front of her. Her fingers fell limp as the room fell dark again.

“Vilgefortz?”

He clicked the flashlight in his hand and beckoned her forward. “When I heard the door open I didn’t know who to expect. Friend or foe. Thought I could buy myself some time to figure that out.” 

Yennefer walked forward but didn’t respond, her eyes seeking out the generator. Nothing seemed wrong with it, she ran her hands over it, seeking out what she didn’t know. Finally, she returned her gaze to Vilgefortz. 

“It is puzzling,” he said. “But I don’t see any obvious signs of tampering so I suggest we just stay on our guard.” 

Yennefer kicked the generator. 

“I somehow don’t think that’s going to work.” 

Yennefer shrugged. “Worth a shot. Plus, it got me soaked for no reason so it got what it deserved.” She wrapped her arms around herself, the adrenaline from seeing shadow Vilgefortz had momentarily distracted her from just how freezing she was, but now it was all she could focus on. Her eyes narrowed at a surprisingly dry Vilgefortz. 

Before she could ask the words were already out of his mouth, “Umbrella.” He picked the object up from the floor next to the generator, a puddle of wet left in its wake. “But it’s only big enough for one person … and you’re already wet.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Yennefer said, already heading for the exit since it seemed that there was nothing for them to do. “ Fuck you, Vilgefortz.” 

The two left the building and stepped out into the rain, the downpour seeming only increasing in intensity since they had been inside. Yennefer shot Vilgefortz a glare and the bastard didn’t even have the humility to look sheepish. He raised the umbrella and Yennefer took off running for the second time. 

She got back to Sabrina before Vilgefortz did, but she was too cold to feel the ache of her limbs protesting. Sabrina at least had the decency to look sympathetic when she saw Vilgefortz show up moments later, umbrella in hand, mostly dry. 

“What’s the verdict?” Sabrina asked. 

“Uncertain. It doesn’t look like foul play.” 

“Still,” Yennefer said. “I don’t think we should let our guards down either. I’m sure it’s just the storm, but we can’t underestimate the people coming after Tissaia.” 

Yennefer stepped back into the house, grateful for the warmth inside. She slipped her shoes off, she would throw them out in the morning. Vilgefortz followed, propping his umbrella up against the back door.

“I think we should patrol,” Sabrina said. “At least until the storm is over and we can get somebody in to look at the generator and confirm.” 

Yennefer and Vilgefortz murmured their assent, though not too enthusiastically. Not that Yennefer felt guilty for it in the slightest, overnight watches were the worst, especially after the day she’d had, and when she wanted nothing more than to crawl under the covers and forget that she existed for a couple of hours. 

“Me and Vilgefortz will take the downstairs, it has the most possible points for entry. Yennefer, you’re near guard anyway so stay close to Tissaia.” 

Yennefer nodded, though she had to admit being close to Tissaia right now wasn’t all that appealing. She was exhausted enough and didn’t think she could handle getting snapped at after spending hours reliving her worst trauma. But the job was the job, even if at times like this Yennefer was ready to turn in her two weeks notice. 

She left Sabrina and Vilgefortz bickering amongst themselves and made her way up the stairs and towards Tissaia’s bedroom. She raised her hand to knock but reconsidered. If Tissaia was asleep then she didn’t want to risk waking her, gods knew how much she needed it. Plus, she was still soaking wet and desperately needed a fresh and dry pair of clothes. 

So she padded over to her room, the steadiness of the carpet under her feet welcome after the slippery, muddied lawn she had to put up with moments earlier. She still had no idea how she managed not to slip and fall and sent prayers out to every god she could think of for offering her at least that once mercy. 

Back inside her room, she rummaged for the first set of dry clothes that she could find. While she was technically on the clock thanks to this late night emergency, she couldn’t be bothered to put on real clothes. Instead settling for a pair of shorts and an old t-shirt. Once she was dressed she stole out into the hall again and found Tissaia’s door. There was still no use in waking her, but she was supposed to stay close so there was only one thing to do. She got down on the floor - collapsed really - and leaned her back against the door, her head thumping slightly on the wood. Yennefer fought off a yawn as she settled into her post for the night, only hoping that she would be able to ward off sleep for as long as she could. 

But before the thought of falling asleep could even properly occur to her, the door was yanked open and Yennefer had never been more thankful for the quick reflexes that the agency had drilled into her. They were all that kept her from tumbling into Tissaia’s room. Still, her cheeks burned as Tissaia saw her sitting on the floor. 

“Yennefer …” was all that she said, but her meaning was clear. Explanation, now. 

Yennefer grasped onto the doorframe as she eased herself to her feet, that running to and fro in the rain had exerted her more than she liked. But she supposed that was what two weeks on bed rest did to a person. “We can’t figure out what’s wrong with the generator, but we upped our security protocols. I’m supposed to keep you close within reach.” 

Tissaia opened her mouth, undoubtedly to tell Yennefer somewhat politely to fuck off from outside of her room and give her some semblance of privacy but then she paused. Her gaze swept over Yennefer’s wet hair, rarely hanging loose so that it would dry faster. Over the goosebumps raised on her skin. The monotone of the words that came from her lips. 

Tissaia reached out and brushed her fingers across the skin of Yennefer’s forearm, leaving a trail of goosebumps in her wake but for entirely different reasons than the ones that she found there. Tissaia’s touch felt hot and Yennefer feared it would burn her. Yet she wanted that fire to devour her whole until there was nothing left.

“You’re freezing,” Tissaia whispered, as her fingers fell away from Yennefer’s skin. Yennefer was flooded with a chill once more. “Well, you’re no use to anyone freezing to death outside of my bedroom. Come in.” 

Yennefer was too cold, too tired to grasp the enormity of Tissaia’s words. To understand that she was being allowed a privilege that few received; entry to the inner sanctum. Her head was too fuzzy to take in the details of Tissaia’s room, and she was more than happy to follow Tissaia’s pointed finger that directed her over to the lit fireplace in the corner of the room. 

Yennefer eased into one of the chairs facing the fireplace, though the warmth of the dancing flames beckoned her closer. Yet, she already knew that it was nothing compared to the heat of Tissaia’s skin on her own, and Yennefer’s body ached with want. Her walls had already crumbled to pieces earlier that day, she was in no state to resist her desires. Still, she bit down on her lip with enough force to draw blood and tried to ground herself. 

When Tissaia brought Yennefer a blanket from the base of her own bed, Yennefer took it gladly. She wrapped herself in it, the warm scents of oak and cinnamon, the essence of Tissaia, tickling her nose. She knew she had never smelled anything quite so divine and she only wished that she could press her lips against Tissaia’s pulse points and get the smell from its source. But she would gladly settle for being wrapped up in it. 

Tissaia sat next to her on the adjoining armchair, though neither of them spoke for several minutes, allowing the crackling of the wood fire to do all the talking for them. Even as Yennefer was starting to regain feeling in her fingers, she burrowed deeper into the safety of the blanket. The heat of Tissaia’s gaze was enough to send shivers down her back. 

Yennefer was never one to break eye contact first but she feared the longer she met Tissaia’s eyes, the more and more it would undo her.

She cast her eyes to the ceiling, the telltale heaviness of her lids setting in and the night was nowhere close to being over. She pinched herself but it was of no use, the events of the day had set in and sleep was getting harder and harder to fight. A cleared throat brought her attention back to Tissaia, who had been studying her every move like how a painter might study every unseen inch of their subject. 

Oh, Yennefer so hated being seen. 

“Coffee?” Tissaia asked, her voice barely audible against the combination of the snapping fire and the water hitting the roof. Yennefer wondered if this moment felt inexplicably heavy for her too. 

“That would be wonderful,” Yennefer whispered back. A beat. “Thank you.” 

Tissaia nodded her head slowly and made to get up. Yennefer, who had already promised not to let Tissaia out of her sight, did the same. It was instinct. 

“No,” Tissaia said, though there was no force behind it. “There’s a pot and cups in the study, I won’t be far and I won’t be long.” 

“But-” 

“No buts. I’ll be back in a moment.” 

And then Tissaia was gone, out of the door and into the darkness of the house beyond. With Tissaia’s exit, Yennefer’s eyelids only felt heavier and as she nestled into the armchair her eyes blinked closed. 

When Yennefer opened her eyes, Tissaia was opposite her again, a mug held to her lips. Yennefer glanced over and saw a similar one on the coffee table, she reached out and wrapped her hands around the mug. It was still hot, she hadn’t been asleep for too long. 

“Sorry,” she said, before taking a sip. The coffee burned her throat going down but she didn’t mind. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” 

“It was barely a little catnap, Yennefer,” Tissaia said, though she wasn’t looking at her anymore. “You have to stop being so hard on yourself.”

Yennefer blinked in surprise, this could not possibly be the same Tissaia who had been snapping at her for weeks on end. But she kept quiet, it would do no use to point that out. She had another sip of coffee, thankful that it was already starting to have an effect. 

But the surprise in her eyes did not go unnoticed and she heard a long sigh escape from Tissaia lips. “Do not take my harsh words this past week as a reflection of yourself, there is more-” 

Tissaia paused. As much as Yennefer wished to urge her on, she did not. She knew the value of privacy, the trust when vulnerability was given freely. Even though Tissaia wasn’t looking at her, Yennefer cast her gaze away, to the painting of a wooded forest above the fireplace. She would let Tissaia sort her thoughts in as much peace as Yennefer could allow. 

Once again a hush fell over the room, there was so much to say and yet both women lacked the courage to let the words fall from their lips. Outside the storm still raged on, branches of a nearby tree hitting against Tissaia’s bedroom window every so often. The dim light of the fire struggled against the inky black, just managing to illuminate the two of them in its grasp. Yennefer could hardly believe that there were other people in the house, much less other people in the world. Her own world felt narrowed to Tissaia. 

“Yennefer,” Tissaia said softly, turning her head to seek out Yennefer’s face. Yennefer met her eyes and thought she might melt at what she found swirling in them. An emotion she could not name, yet knew intimately. For it was the same that she had been keeping locked in her heart. 

“What did you mean the other day when we were at lunch? When you said it was your duty to keep me safe … until the end.”

Tissaia asked it like she already knew the answer. But Yennefer was well aware that knowing something, and hearing it confirmed were two different things. One you could still pretend ignorance, the other, well … it laid everything out in the open for uncomfortable scrutiny. No room for half-truths or denied feelings. 

“It means that I would lay down my life for you, T-” Yennefer swallowed before she addressed Tissaia by name. “It means that I would die before allowing any harm to come to you. I will protect you until the end of my life.” 

The scar on her abdomen was evidence of that enough, and while it did not go deep, it could have. While it did not kill her, it could have. Tissaia’s eyes drifted to Yennefer’s side as though Yennefer’s words had too, reminded her of this. Yennefer did not consider herself a liar, but the memory marring her skin was truth enough. 

“Oh,” was all Tissaia could say, as the weight of Yennefer’s promise sunk in. It was no easy thing, to know a person would willingly die so you might live. And it was certainly nothing that Tissaia had ever experienced before. 

“It’s late,” Tissaia said suddenly, getting up from the chair. “I should get some sleep.” But before she walked over to the bed she stopped at the chair Yennefer was seated in. Yennefer looked up at her and swore her heart nearly stopped in her chest, Tissaia’s eyes were wet. If Yennefer hadn’t been privy to their conversation she would have insisted that it was merely a trick of the light, but no, Tissaia’s eyes were undeniably glassy. 

Tissaia reached for Yennefer’s hand, letting her own rest gently upon it. That mere touch was enough to make Yennefer’s breath hitch as her whole nervous system lit up with sparks. 

“Goodnight, Yennefer,” Tissaia said, the shake in her voice almost imperceptible. Then, with a soft squeeze of Yennefer’s hand, she left to the other side of the room where her bed was. Yennefer’s gaze followed her as she disappeared beneath the covers of her four-poster bed, her head turned towards the door, away from Yennefer. 

But Yennefer didn’t look away this time, although something told her she should, and she watched the soft rise and fall of Tissaia’s chest as the rained slowed its onslaught and the sky turned from grey to an explosion of the yellows and oranges and soft pinks of dawn. 

As the sun slowly made its way across the sky, Yennefer’s eyes finally shut and her breathing slowed. She could only wonder what her world would feel like the next time she woke up.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Sabrina comes down with the cold, Yennefer must accompany Tissaia to the wedding of the century. When feelings, mixed drinks, and slow dancing collide, there's bound to be sparks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Knock, knock. Yennaia fandom, you still there? 
> 
> Once again let me apologize for how long it's taken to get this chapter out, life is crazy busy and as I'm sure you all know the complete lack of Witcher content hasn't made for good inspiration. Also, I saw all your lovely comments on the last chapter and appreciated them all, so thank you for all of your kind words. 
> 
> Please do enjoy this chapter!

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” Yennefer said, shaking her head. “You’re fucking my one night stand?”

The gasp from Jaskier was immediate and Geralt’s arm around him was the only thing that stopped him from leaping from the couch to his feet in horror. “Yennefer!” he exclaimed. “Don’t be crass. We’re in a committed relationship, there’s a lot more to it than just fucking.” 

Geralt grunted, though if it was in affirmation or contradiction Yennefer couldn’t tell. It seemed he was just as talkative as the night she had met him, which considering Jaskier’s propensity for never shutting his mouth could mean that they were perfect for each other. Or would eventually be each other’s worst nightmare. Either way, Yennefer had more important things on her mind. 

She flopped on the couch opposite the two of them and swiped the beer that Jaskier had put on the coffee table for her, taking a big swig. “Well, I suppose I wouldn’t know. All my committed relationships were filled with lies, betrayals and if I’m really _lucky_ , murder.” 

“You just haven’t met the right non-homicidal person yet,” Jaskier assured her, cuddling up to Geralt. Neither Yennefer nor Geralt was enjoying this public display of affection. Jaskier turned his attention back to Yennefer, “how is it going with miss fancy pants, milf of your dreams anyway?” 

Yennefer thought she might just pack up and move out now, end the suffering before it truly had a chance to begin. 

“She’s alive,” Yennefer answered. “Which means I’m doing my job.” 

Jaskier sighed, not getting the answers he wanted always made him pout. Suddenly he sat up, “Isn’t she going to that wedding today? Twitter is calling it the wedding of the year, that’s expected to only last a year.” 

Yennefer nodded. The mysterious Margarita Laux-Antille. The only name she had ever seen rattle Tissaia, oh how she longed to figure out why. And going to the wedding today would have gotten her closer to some answers but - 

“So why are you sitting on that dingy old couch and not getting ready?” 

Yennefer took another swig of beer, her eyes flickering over to Geralt who appeared to be sleeping. She couldn’t blame him. “Doctor cleared me for active duty again but Triss figured one more day off couldn’t hurt. Though why she decided to send Sabrina in my place is beyond me - it’s like she’s asking for an international incident.” 

Her phone started ringing, a glance at it showed Triss’ number. Yennefer grabbed it and headed to her room before Jaskier could ask her to put it on the speakerphone. 

Yennefer pressed answer. “Triss? Everything okay?” Triss usually communicated through text so to get a call was a bit worrisome. 

“Nothing major,” Triss said, though her voice sounded like it was quite the opposite. “Sabrina seems to have come down with a last minute case of the sniffles and even with the threat of termination refused to get out of bed. I’m subbing you in, Vengerburg. Once you feel up to it, of course” 

“I’m good to go,” Yennefer answered. A pause, then, “though I am a little surprised you didn’t go to Vilgefortz, with your worries over my health and all.” 

There was a moment of silence on the other side of the line, as though Triss was debating whether or not to tell her something. Then, finally, “Ms. de Vries asked for you personally.” 

“Oh.” Yennefer’s heart thudded in her chest. 

She and Tissaia hadn’t talked about the moment they had shared in Tissaia’s room that night. Not that there was anything to talk about - Yennefer’s own feelings were confused enough that she was certain if she tried to give words to them they would come out sounding like a different language. Whether Tissaia could speak that language or not was a question that Yennefer was much too terrified to know the answer to. 

And Yennefer didn’t get terrified. 

“Also, she sent you a present,” Triss added. “It should be arriving at your doorstep at any moment. Try to remember to thank her for it.” 

“Yes, mom,” Yennefer retorted and then hung up. She hoped her voice hadn’t betrayed her inner emotions, which were coming out in the shake of her hands. She shoved them into her pockets, that would hide them from Jaskier at least. Yennefer knew what Triss would say to her right now, that sometimes the job gets _confusing_. That spending so much time with one person can be dangerous, that being willing to lay your life down for a person can get the wires crossed in a person’s brain. 

Triss would reassign Yennefer if she knew. And Yennefer wouldn’t be able to handle that; this was her shot at redemption. She couldn’t save Queen Calanthe but she could save Tissaia. She _had_ saved Tissaia, the scar on her abdomen proved that beyond a doubt. 

A sudden knock at the door jolted Yennefer from her thoughts. And though she ran from her room, Jaskier had made it to the front door first and was holding a very elegantly wrapped box. A big, golden, intricately tied bow was sitting on top. 

Yennefer took the box from his hands, ignoring his questioning gaze. The box was light as she carried it into her bedroom, Jaskier trailing close behind. She set it down on the bed and flipped the tag over. Her name was scrawled in gold ink that matched the colour of the bow on top. A delicate kind of handwriting that Yennefer had come to know over the past several weeks. 

She untied the bow with as much care as she could manage. Jaskier had always been surprised at her approach to opening presents - expecting her to tear open the wrapping and scatter tissue paper. She could understand why, it was the kind of brashness that fit in with the rest of her personality. But the truth was that she never received very many presents, so she always tried to make the opening of the ones she did get last as long as she could. 

Once the bow was undone she set it aside and opened the box, her fingers slowly prying apart the tissue to reveal a dress. A white dress with beautiful gold embellishing. It was the dress that Yennefer had tried on and loved when they had gone dress shopping for Tissaia at Coral’s store. Yennefer felt a sudden lump in her throat, she didn’t know how Tissaia had remembered. 

Jaskier cleared his throat behind her and she jumped; she had forgotten he was there. She blinked a couple of times before turning to face him, letting him see the beautiful piece of fabric stretched out across her bed. 

“Holy -” was all Jaskier could get out before he was overcome. He reached forward to touch it but Yennefer slapped his hand away. 

“Keep your grubby paws off it,” Yennefer said, though there was no malice in her voice. How could there be when she had been gifted something so wonderful. 

Although impractical for bodyguard use, it would be difficult though not impossible to conceal weapons. Yennefer was already considering her options when her phone buzzed. 

It was Tissaia. It seemed the woman had anticipated her needs. 

“ _Rita has employed more than enough security tonight to keep her guests safe. Consider your attendance tonight as my bodyguard a mere formality -- you deserve a chance at some proper fun.”_

Yennefer wished she could tell her heart to stop smiling. 

* * *

When she arrived at Tissaia’s, Yennefer felt as though she had landed in chaos. If she didn’t know any better she would have thought the wedding was happening at Tissaia’s house with the amount of staff rushing through the halls. As she walked up the stairs, she quickly realized Tissaia’s room was the source of activity. 

Yennefer approached the door and knocked, several people looked up but the only one that Yennefer had eyes for was Tissaia. With two fingers she beckoned Yennefer into the room. 

Tissaia was sitting at her ornate vanity in the corner, a group of people crowded around her. Yennefer guessed from the various implements that they were holding that they were her prep team. They eyed her as she walked in, looking her up and down. 

Finally, they parted to reveal a chair next to Tissaia’s. 

“Sit,” Tissaia said. 

And Yennefer did. 

They passed the next hour in companionable silence. Apparently part of Tissaia’s plan to give Yennefer a break was pampering and dolling up. Which Yennefer really thought she would hate, but Tissaia’s hairstylist gave excellent scalp massages and so Yennefer had stopped her protests pretty early in. 

There was a moment of quiet soon, somehow all of the stylists had found a reason to leave the room and Yennefer couldn’t help but wonder if it was with planned precision. If they could read the look on her face that begged for a minute of privacy; she hadn’t forgotten the promise she had made to Triss. Though even if she hadn’t made that promise, she would have wanted to say the words anyway. 

It wasn’t hard trying to catch Tissaia’s eyes, the woman was already looking at her. “Thank you,” Yennefer whispered, even though it was just the two of them in the room. “Although you really shouldn’t have.” 

Tissaia lip quirked up. “You are more than welcome Yennefer. Truly. The dress was made for you, it is only fitting that you should have it.” 

A woman walked into the room with an extravagantly large eyeshadow palette and the moment was broken. Yennefer breathed out as the woman swirled a brush in gold paint and applied it to her eyelids. Even with her eyes shut, she could feel the image of Tissaia smiling at her burned into memory. 

When they were fully ready, they were made to stand in front of the full-length mirror. Yennefer was in flats, they had tried to suggest heels but Yennefer had flat out refused. She knew that she was supposedly “off-duty” but she didn’t want the risk of something happening and having to run in heels. Tissaia had gratefully accepted the pair offered to her, and while they gave her some height, Yennefer still managed to have a couple of inches on her. 

Yennefer caught Tissaia’s ever so slight pout in her reflection and wondered if Tissaia was coming to the same realization. Regardless, her height didn’t change the fact that Tissaia looked absolutely stunning. Yennefer was scared to offer her a compliment, for the fear that the emotions that had been building in her heart would slip out in her voice. 

Tissaia didn’t share the same fear. “What did I say.” Tissaia looked Yennefer’s reflection up and down, as though scrutinizing every inch of her. “That dress was made for you. You look beautiful, Yennefer.” 

Yennefer swallowed. “Thank you, Ms. de Vries.” 

Tissaia laughed suddenly as if realizing the absurdity of titles in a moment like this. She turned so she could see Yennefer and not just her reflection. “I’m taking you with me to a wedding. I think Tissaia will be fine for just one night.” 

Yennefer nodded her head, trying to school her facial features in an expression of poise. She’d called Tissaia by her name many times, but to actually say it to her face was another thing. It carried a certain weight that once given could never truly be taken back. 

“Say it.” 

“Say what?”

“Say my name,” Tissaia said, a sparkle of mischief in her eyes as though she could sense Yennefer’s hesitancy. “I would rather you didn’t slip up at the wedding, so you may as well get in the habit of calling me Tissaia from now.” 

“Of course.” Yennefer met her eyes. “ _Tissaia_.” She rolled every syllable over her tongue as though it were the first time the name had passed through her lips; a careful enunciation as though her name was a language she was learning for the first time. Sometimes she felt like it was. 

“Excellent.” Tissaia winked and Yennefer felt a change in the air, a static electricity that had always existed was that much closer to finally being named. Tissaia offered her arm, and Yennefer took it, not knowing what the night would bring. The uncertainty made her feel more nervous than she appreciated, but simultaneously also more _alive_ than she had ever felt in years. 

* * *

The wedding venue was more beautiful than words, and Yennefer supposed that she shouldn’t have been surprised. She’d quickly found out just how the one percent lived after spending time with Tissaia, but still walking into the almost fully glass atrium where the ceremony and later reception would take place she was awestruck. A glance forward showed an intricate wedding arch fashioned from dark wood, draped in an almost transparent white fabric with flowers and other greenery twisting around and around the sides. The flowers ranged from deep emerald green to the blues of a stormy ocean to gold and to a white so pristine it looked unreal. 

Behind the arch was a massive window that looked onto the mountains and the lake below, there was supposed to be a firework show later and it would provide the perfect view. There were fairy lights scattered around the room as far as one could see; their warm yellow hues casting the room in a dim glow as the sun made its way behind the mountain top. For such a grand event, with a guest list so large Yennefer could barely fathom the number of people around her, the lights somehow worked to make the setting feel intimate. 

Yennefer and Tissaia were led to a set of chairs on the left hand side of the room - their bride’s side. They took their seats amidst the hustle and bustle of the room around them, attendants running around putting up the finishing touches, people speaking in constant low voices; catching up with people they hadn’t seen for a while. Yennefer herself hadn’t spoken a word since she got inside, her thoughts had been swept up in the world of wonder surrounding her - _wait was that Meryl Streep?_

Yennefer reached over to her right for Tissaia automatically, a gesture of people who had known each other for much longer than they had, but Yennefer didn’t even notice the familiarity she was taking without thinking. She didn’t know when she had slipped into this level of comfort. Maybe it was the whiskey that Tissaia had offered her on the ride over. 

“Why, Yennefer,” Tissaia said in false shock, “I would almost say you appear to be starstruck? Speechless? Quite frankly I would be lying if I said that I thought such a thing was possible.” 

Yennefer barely heard the words she said, her gaze flitting around the room landing on faces that she had only ever seen through a screen or in print. She had never been one to idolize celebrity culture, but still, there was something surreal to it that captured her. 

Tissaia reached out for her hand, the sudden jolt of skin against skin bringing Yennefer back from the land of the silver screen. “Earth to Yennefer.” Tissaia chuckled. 

“Sorry,” Yennefer said, her face sheepish; almost ashamed she had been so swept up in it all. “What were you saying?”

“That you look like a kid at Disneyworld. All wide-eyed and full of belief.” 

Yennefer took another glance around the room before returning her gaze to Tissaia. “It does feel as though we’ve stepped into a fairytale of some kind. It’s beautiful.”

Tissaia’s eyebrows shot up. “I never took you for a hopeful romantic.” 

“I’m not.” Yennefer laughed. “The furthest thing from it, in fact. But sitting here, it does make you think about the possibility of it all.” 

Her gaze on Tissaia took on a new weight with those words, she didn’t mean it to, but how could it not? Yennefer swore she almost saw the other woman blush but perhaps it was just a trick of the light. A trick of her own emotions casting things in a rose coloured glow.

But Tissaia refused to let go of her gaze and even though they were in a room full of people Yennefer was aching to lean forward and kiss her right there. She eyed the soft curve of Tissaia’s lips and longed to find out what they would feel like on her own. Each breath Yennefer took felt heavier than the last, the room dimming further until Tissaia was all she could see. 

The wedding march started playing and the tension snapped. Yennefer hadn’t even noticed the previous hush that had come over the room in anticipation. 

Tissaia turned her head to look at the bride, Yennefer waited for a beat before she did the same. Rita looked beautiful, but was anything else to be expected? And as she walked down the aisle, a massive bouquet in hand that matched the flowers twirled around the arch, there wasn’t an eye in the room that wasn’t glued to her otherworldly form. She floated down the walkway as though all the magic in the room had come together and conspired to make her _fly_. 

Yennefer couldn't help but look at Tissaia, her head was tilted away from her but she could still just make out the side of her face. Thousands of emotions flashed through Tissaia’s eyes, too fast for Yennefer to get a read on any of them. But there was a certain unmistakable tension to her shoulders that Yennefer hadn’t remembered seeing there before Rita walked in. The rise and fall of her chest too rapid for some storm not to be whirling through her mind. 

Tissaia looked like a deer caught in headlights that weren’t even pointed at her. Yennefer chewed on the inside of her lip, she felt closer to the truth of it all. And suddenly she wished she had never bothered to go looking for it. Because the more that became clear, the more Yennefer wanted to run. 

Run and never look back. 

But she forced herself to stay seated, to turn her gaze away from Tissaia and stop assuming the worst. Because the truth of the matter was that none of her assumptions changed anything; Yennefer still had a job to do. And she would do it well. 

The ceremony was short and sweet. Rita and her newly pronounced wife weren’t the type for long emotional vows, though they did opt to write their own instead of the traditional ‘in sickness and in health’ ones. Yennefer didn’t know Rita but from the way Tissaia’s gaze had hardened on the couple as the vows were being exchanged, she doubted that the latter part of _for better or for worse_ applied to the bride. 

Soon enough the crowd spilled into the neighbouring room for the reception. Small clusters of tables formed a semi-circle around the dance floor, a long rectangular table on the opposite end held seats for the wedding party. Brides at the centre, presiding over it all. 

Dinner was a splendid affair though Yennefer would have expected nothing less. There were many times she had to stop and remind herself that she was in the company of ‘respectable’ people and probably shouldn’t inhale her food like she’d been starving her whole life. 

But she _had_ been starving her whole life. 

And the glitz and the glamour may have made for a pretty backdrop, but it couldn’t compare to the way that Tissaia smiled at her as she watched Yennefer try so hard not to be Yennefer at that moment. 

Yennefer had thought being known was the scariest thing that could ever befall a person. She hadn’t realized that fear had merely been hunger in disguise. 

Speeches followed next, at which point Yennefer had just tuned out of it all. She was too busy thinking about how the reflection of the lights in Tissaia’s eyes looked like little flickers of starlight. If Tissaia noticed her staring then she didn’t acknowledge it and Yennefer was thankful because she had no excuse. 

The clinking of a champagne glass brought Yennefer back to the present, the last toast was finished and Rita was beaming into the crowd like a Cheshire cat. Her gaze locked on a Tissaia like a homing beacon and Yennefer couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable for her.

Rita stepped up to the microphone once more. “That was supposed to be the last speech of the night but I’m honoured to have my best friend sitting in the audience, and it would be terribly remiss of me not to ask her to say a few words.” 

If Yennefer hadn’t been looking at Tissaia at that very moment she didn’t think she would have noticed the way her mask momentarily fell before it was immediately reformed. The tension was back in her shoulders, a smile stretched across her face, but it was the one that Yennefer had seen in all those magazine and paparazzi pictures of her. Painted on. 

Yennefer offered her a sympathetic look as she stood up and walked over to Rita. A show of air kisses later and Tissaia had the microphone in her hand. She gripped it with ease, somehow, all of the tension that Yennefer had seen in her slipped right off. Well, almost all. 

“You will have to forgive me,” Tissaia started, with a gesture over to Rita, “I found out I was giving this toast at the same time you all did, but I think you know that to be friends with Rita is to expect the unexpected.”

A couple of laughs from the crowd filled the air. Yennefer stayed silent. 

“There is so much that can be said about the lovely couple before us. In fact, I would say it's a true testament to their love that we are all here today, many of us may have expected hell to freeze over before we ever watched Rita walk down the aisle.”

More laughs, clearly the sentiment was a popular one. Rita herself joined, pulling her new wife into an embrace, although her eyes never left Tissaia. Yennefer felt a pang of _something_ in her stomach; she tried not to think about it too hard. 

Tissaia offered Rita a smile before casting her gaze out into the crowd, on Yennefer specifically. “Rita and Philippa have provided for us all an example of a love that looks past flaws. A love that has blossomed from a long forgotten seed to create the most beautiful of flowers … that will weather the fire and the frost and come out only stronger. I ask you all to raise a glass and join me in wishing nothing but happiness to these beautiful brides.” 

The sentiment echoed around the room, Yennefer downed the last of her champagne. Tissaia hadn’t taken her eyes off of her for the entirety of the latter half of her toast and Yennefer didn’t know if it was that or the mixture of alcohols swirling in her veins but all of sudden she felt a _heat_ racing through her body. 

The band started playing as Tissaia walked back over to their table. People started getting up and moving again, over to other tables or to the dance floor. But once again amidst all the chaos, Yennefer noticed none of it, her world narrowed to Tissaia. 

“I thought you said that you didn’t know anything about Rita’s wife?” Yennefer whispered, once Tissaia was in earshot. 

“I don’t.” Tissaia’s gaze on her was heavy with a meaning that Yennefer couldn’t quite grasp, or couldn’t quite make herself believe. “Dance with me?”

For the second time that day, Yennefer took her arm. 

And so they danced. And it was less awkward than Yennefer would have expected it to be, although perhaps that was indeed the alcohol talking. Her limbs felt loose, and free, unencumbered by the knowledge that nobody here knew who she was, and thus nobody was looking at her. And even if somebody did stare or try to come over, Tissaia would politely but forcefully persuade them to pursue other dance partners. 

A group in the corner was finishing up the macarena, for what wedding could ever be complete without a bunch of fools trying to win the title of most embarrassing display on the dance floor? Yennefer and Tissaia had stopped to watch, trading snickers back and forth as they took in the scene in front of them. At some point, Tissaia had started leaning on Yennefer but she didn’t mind. The weight of her was a comfort. 

Before long the band had started playing the first slow song of the night and couples flocked to the dance floor. Yennefer and Tissaia were already there. Waiting. 

Wanting. 

Yennefer made the snap decision to pull Tissaia into her arms, the heels giving Tissaia just enough height that she could rest her head against Yennefer’s shoulder. They said nothing as they swayed slowly to the beat of the music. The coconut smell of Tissaia’s shampoo tickled Yennefer’s nose and she realized they’d never been this close before. 

Well - besides the time that Yennefer had gotten stabbed and Tissaia had pulled her into her lap. But that was an act of desperation. This was an act of choice. 

Yennefer fought against everything that told her to bring Tissaia in closer, to hold her tighter - so she spun her out and back in. Tissaia shook her head ever so slightly at Yennefer’s grandiosity, but her smile betrayed her true feelings. 

Neither of them said a word, this moment felt too important, too special, to risk ruining with something as dangerous as words. So, they just held onto each other, neither wanting the song to end. 

But wishes are not always granted and before long the final notes of the song played out. Yennefer and Tissaia were left looking at each other, a choice in front of them. A choice that could change it all. 

Yennefer made it for them, reaching for Tissaia’s hand and leading her off into a quiet side passageway. Once she was certain that they were alone, she gently pushed Tissaia until her back way against the stone wall. Her hand came up to brush a few stray strands of hair out of Tissaia’s face. It had all transpired in seconds but somehow Yennefer felt as though she was watching it all unfold in slow-motion. 

The heaviness of their breath intermingled as Yennefer used her finger to tilt Tissaia’s head up until their lips were nearly touching. She paused as she watched Tissaia’s eyes dilate, certain it had everything to do with the desire that was swirling in the air and not just the darkened room. But Yennefer would not close the gap, she had gotten them here and she would let the final decision rest with Tissaia. 

Tissaia’s tongue darted out to wet her bottom lip before she inched closer ever so slightly. 

The sound of a throat being cleared caused them to spring apart from each other, like a bunch of guilty teenagers who had been caught after curfew. 

Rita stared back at them before a laugh erupted from her that nearly doubled her over. Once the performance was over she offered the pair a grin. “Sorry ladies, just a bride trying to piss on her wedding night.” 

Yennefer glanced behind them and noticed a sign that she’d previously missed - in her defense, it was mostly covered in the ivy plants trailing down the wall. 

“Speaking of,” Rita said as she walked closer to them, reaching her hands towards Tissaia. “There’s no way I can go to the bathroom in this dress all by myself.” 

Tissaia sighed but let Rita drag her off into the bathroom, just managing to throw Yennefer an apologetic look before Rita pulled her through the door. 

Yennefer slumped against the wall. One thought running through her mind, " _what the fuck just happened._ "

* * *

“Didn’t know you were shacking up with your bodyguard,” Rita snickered as she made her way into a stall. 

“We are not sha-” Tissaia sighed, cutting herself off. There was no point trying to argue with Rita, especially after what she had just seen. “What are we doing here, Rita?”

“Can you like hold these skirts? I would do it but then _you’d_ have to pull my panties down and something tells me that would make you uncomfortable.” 

Tissaia gathered the skirts of Rita’s dress in her arms; it felt like she was holding onto some massive cloud, or pastry. “I would think it would make your new wife uncomfortable.” 

Rita sat down on the toilet, forcing Tissaia down with her. Tissaia glared at her, only too aware of how much pleasure Rita was taking from this. 

“Please, Tissy. It’s an open relationship. Philippa understands what I need. Unlike some people.” She shot Tissaia a pointed look. 

“Excuse me?” Tissaia dropped Rita’s dress and it brushed against the floor. 

Rita sighed. “All your talk of ‘you’re the one for me’, ‘let’s build a life together with only us in it’. It was suffocating. So I left.” 

“Without even a goodbye.” 

Rita stood up and flushed, before turning back to Tissaia. “Well, I couldn’t risk you convincing me to stay.” 

And with that she brushed past Tissaia and went over to the sinks, leaving the other woman speechless. 

Then Tissaia whirled on her, but Rita had gotten there first, pushing Tissaia up against the door of the bathroom. Tissaia couldn’t help but feel a sense of deja-vu as Rita brushed a few strands of hair out of her face. 

“Do you think she can kiss you the way I used to,” Rita whispered, her lips going to Tissaia’s neck, leaving a mark of dark purple; barely noticeable in the darkness but Tissaia felt it all the same. 

Rita pulled back. “Do you think she can make you feel the way you felt when you were with me?”

“Fuck you.” 

Rita laughed again, stepping back away from Tissaia. Tissaia shifted and Rita reached for the door, the fingers curling around the handle. “It was wonderful to see you again, Tissaia.” 

* * *

Yennefer didn’t know what the hell happened in that bathroom but Rita came out and flashed her a smile, and then a wink. And Yennefer felt unease pool in her stomach. Tissaia came out several minutes later. Yennefer didn’t ask and Tissaia didn’t offer. 

They just stood there, looking at each other. Finally, Tissaia said, “Can we talk about it in the morning?” 

And all Yennefer could do was nod. 


End file.
